Harry Potter And The Rise Of The Dark Lord
by Jay lupin 1
Summary: This is my version of book six. The death of --- finally gets to Harry. Warning- will involve cutting in later chapters.
1. Letters

I'll warn you all now. There's some violence, some bad language, and more violence...Minor slash later (non-harry...SI in later chapters... Many pairings...none are really dwelled upon.  
  
Chapter One - Letters  
  
The second week of August was coming to an end and Harry was way past aggravated with his current situation. He knew he had to stay with the Dursleys for a certain amount of time but they had taken him away from the Dursleys before the summer holidays ended previous years. In fact he hadn't spent a whole summer with them since he began Hogwarts. Their numerous letters told him they would be getting him soon but, like last year, no date was given. Dumbledore wrote Harry biweekly, using Fawkes. Harry supposed Dumbledore had learnt from last year that it was best if he was kept better informed.  
Harry had taken on a bit of a more aggressive attitude towards the Dursleys. He wasn't going to be pushed around this summer, and he let them know it the moment he walked in the door. He no longer hid under windows to hear the news; instead, he sat in the living room every morning and evening to listen to the news. He did as he pleased for the most part. His new rule from Dumbledore of No Leaving The House made summer all the more worse. He felt trapped.  
At the moment, he was waiting for an owl to bring the day's issue of the Daily Prophet. It was already eight and the owl usually brought it before seven. He fell back onto his bed and just closed his eyes. He wished there was something to do, anything that would keep his mind from thinking about what happened only a few weeks ago. He had already finished all of his homework and read through his Quidditch and Defense books a dozen times in an attempt. However hard he tried to push thoughts of the prophecy and the veil from his mind, though, the more they made themselves shown, it seemed to him.  
Early on he had vowed to himself that he would defeat Lord Voldemort. Not because the whole wizarding world was counting on him or because of some stupid prophecy but because he wanted and needed to avenge Sirius's death, the death of his parents, and so many more. He had thought long and hard about things many nights and every bad thing that happened in his life always led back to one person, Voldemort. He was responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction in so many lives.  
Harry spent numerous nights lying awake with a hollow pain, thinking of his godfather. He tried to put it behind him, but that was too hard. Everything seemed to remind him of Sirius. Tears burnt his eyes as he lie on the bed.  
A familiar clicking noise interrupted his thoughts and he sat up looking for the source of the noise. A large gray owl was pecking at his window. He opened it and the owl flew in, landing on his bedpost. Harry took the letter from its leg. On the front, the Hogwarts crest was stamped in green.  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully passed 6 of your O.W.Ls with an E level or higher. The list of N.E.W.T. level classes you have been accepted into are listed at the bottom. You may choose which classes you wish to take. You must pick at least four. Please write down which ones they will be and owl them to Hogwarts. A mandatory new class has been added to the schedule of all sixth and seventh years, Pure Arts. Congratulations. Minerva McGonagall Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
O - Outstanding, E - Exceeds Expectations,  
A - Acceptable, P - Poor, D - Dreadful  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O  
  
Transfiguration: E Charms: E  
  
Care of Magical Creatures: O  
  
Astronomy: P  
  
Divination: A Potions: E  
  
Herbology: E History of Magic: P  
  
N.E.W.T. Classes Defense Against the Dark Arts Transfiguration Charms Care of Magical Creatures Herbology Potions Divination  
  
Harry was surprised when he saw that he was accepted into Divination and even more so when he saw Potions. Snape only accepted students that received an Outstanding in Potions. He got into all of the classes that he needed to become an auror, though. He felt a smile come across his face. He took out a piece of parchment and quill and scribbled down the classes he wanted. Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and Potions. He wasn't about to take Divination and he didn't need to take Herbology. He gave the letter to Hedwig and she departed.  
Then he took out another letter from the envelope, which was his list of school supplies for his sixth year. He took out the last letter and was surprised, extremely happy, and confused at what fell out. Two shining gold badges, one with the Gryffindor lion and a letter 'C' engraved, the other with the letters 'DA' and two wands crossed shooting sparks.  
  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. We hope you can lead Gryffindor to victory for their third year in a row winning the Quidditch Cup. Your badge is enclosed. A meeting of the four captains will take place on September sixth at 8:00 in the Chamber leading from the Great Hall to discuss practice schedules.  
Congratulations. Minerva McGonagall Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Harry felt excited when he read the letter. He couldn't believe he was made Quidditch captain. Then his mind fell to the other badge. He had no idea what the badge was so he took out the final letter.  
  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
I would like to inform you that the illegal club you were running last year has been made an official club of Hogwarts. You will remain leader of the club. Though, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will assist you when possible. It is understood that you have an immense workload this year, so if you do not wish to remain leader of the club, please owl back.  
Once again, congratulations.  
  
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Harry couldn't help but feel happy. He was Quidditch captain, leader of the DA, and had gotten into all of the classes needed to become an auror. He took the badges and set them on his bedside table. Harry read through his letters again happily. He should have known better than to think his good mood was going to last. The Daily Prophet owl flew in through the open window and dropped the paper onto his bed . It held out its leg with the moneybag. Harry dropped in his money and picked up the paper. He swore as he read the headline of the first page.  
  
DEMENTORS JOIN YOU-KNOW-WHO'S RANKS  
  
Harry scanned through the article. Every Death Eater that was captured had escaped. He threw a punch at his bedroom wall in frustration, causing a picture to fall and break. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON UP THERE?" Uncle Vernon's voice echoed up the stairs.  
Harry ignored him completely. His knuckles were throbbing painfully as he fell back onto his bed. He finished reading the article and he was pleased to see a few insults aimed towards minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge. The rest of the article was nothing but warnings to the wizarding world to beware any hooded or masked individuals and to not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Harry hated to read through the whole paper but he wasn't going to miss anything in it. He learned last year that he couldn't just depend on the headlines anymore. Useful tidbits of information were often slipped in articles nonchalantly. There were not as many attacks as Harry had expected since Voldemort's open return. He thought for sure, now that Voldemort's existence was in the open, he would not hesitate to kill.  
He threw the paper on his desk and looked longingly out the window. 'Do not leave the house.' That was what Dumbledore had written to him in a letter as soon as he arrived at the Dursleys. He supposed it was or the best but it was still frustrating to be stuck indoors with the Dursleys for weeks. Harry's stomach gave a growl and he decided to go downstairs to get something to eat. Aunt Petunia was on the phone gossiping with one of the neighbors when he entered the kitchen. Uncle Vernon was at work and no doubt Dudley was 'out to tea with his friends.' Harry made himself a sandwich and poured himself some iced tea. He spent all afternoon watching TV while he could since both Uncle Vernon and Dudley were out.  
When he returned back upstairs, Ron's owl was zooming around, hooting at him. Harry was used to getting a number of letters every day. The order was always checking in and his friends were always writing to him. They tried to keep him up to date with things and gave pretty good hints that would have been impossible for anyone but Harry to understand. He took the letter, hoping it would be the last for the day.  
  
Hey Harry,  
  
We were all getting worried about you. We hadn't heard from you for three days. Moody was going on about getting a party together to go to the Dursley's.  
  
True, Harry, getting fed up with all of the owls coming a few days ago, had refused to let any in and didn't write to anyone. He figured he had better write to someone on the third day of this before the Order got suspicious of the Dursleys mistreating him or thought he was in any harm, so he sent a letter to Ron. He continued to read Ron's letter.  
  
We got our owls this morning. I guess I didn't do too bad, I got five. Hermione got about fifty. No surprises. I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was only going to take the minimum four but Mum's making me take five.  
  
Well, Hermione's tugging at my quill. I s'pose she wants to tell you about her owls.  
  
And sure enough, Hermione's neat writing appeared next.  
  
Hey Harry,  
  
How are you? I'm so excited. I got ten owls. I'm sure you did well too. I can't wait to start our new class. Pure Arts. It's where you do magic without wand. I wonder who the new teacher will be. And of Defense. No one can be any worse than Umbridge was.  
And what Ron said about all of us getting worried was true. The order got really nervous when you didn't write for three days. You shouldn't do that, you know. They were about to come to the Dursleys.  
  
As Harry read these words, an idea sprung to his head. He smiled at his own genius.  
  
Well, owl us back soon. Miss you lots.  
  
Hermione And Ron  
  
Harry threw the letter aside and sat smiling. He didn't even think over his plan. He knew it would work. There was no way that it wouldn't. In a few days, he would be at the Burrow or Headquarters, free of the Dursleys. He sat on his bed, grinning at his own brilliance.  
  
Three days, one howler, and thirteen worried owls later, Harry was feeling quite satisfied with himself. The most recent letter was from Lupin, saying they would be at the Dursley's home that night if they didn't receive a reply by that time. Harry couldn't believe he hadn't thought of doing this earlier. By the next morning, he would be back at Grimmauld Place with his friends. All day, he felt anxious, pacing his room and not being able to sit more than a few minutes at a time.  
Just as the Dursleys were sitting down to dinner, a series of cracks sounded throughout the house. Harry knew they were the sounds made when one apparates. He started to gather his books and throw them in his trunk as Uncle Vernon's voice echoed throughout the house.  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he boomed.  
"WHERE IS HARRY?" roared what Harry recognized as the voice of Mad-Eye Moody, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?" "I DEMAND YOU LEAVE AT ONCE!" "WHERE IS HARRY?" "D-DON'T YOU POINT THAT AT ME!" "He's up here Mad-Eye!" Lupin shouted from Harry's doorway.  
"Are you alright?" Lupin asked, hurrying over to him.  
"Yeah, fine," Harry said.  
"Why haven't you answered us? Did the Dursleys do anything?" The tone of his voice made Harry feel a little guilty. Leave it to Lupin to act like the mother hen and make him regret getting everyone worried.  
"I -er-" he was saved from answering as Moody appeared with Tonks and Kingsley, wands drawn.  
"What's going on, Remus? Is he alright?" Moody asked, his magical eye searching the room.  
Everyone was staring at him intently wanting an explanation. He shifted uncomfortably, wanting nothing more than to disappear at that moment. He didn't expect this part of his plan.  
"Well, Harry?" Lupin prompted lightly. "I was busy," Harry said lamely not meeting any one of their gazes, "Guess I just forgot." "Busy! Doing what, may I ask? Not enough time to write 'I'm fine.' on a piece of paper! That's a lame excuse!" Moody yelled, "Four Order members were taken away from important duties to come here! And there is nothing wrong with you!" "Now Moody," Lupin said placatingly, trying to calm the grizzled wizard down. "There must be a reason for this. I'm sure Harry didn't do this on purpose." Lupin looked at him expectantly, as though waiting for Harry to back him up. Harry felt, if possible, even guiltier. He didn't know what to say to the group before him.  
"The boy didn't forget! With over ten people writing to him nearly every day! I don't think it just slipped his mind every time he finished a letter!" Moody shouted accusingly.  
Harry was beginning to get angry with them. He had been cooped up in this house for more than a month. What did they expect him to do?  
"We shouldn't even be here right now!" Moody continued, "It's probably just some attempt at getting himself some attention!" "That's out of line," Lupin said.  
Moody's comment was enough to push Harry over the edge. "I DID NOT DO THIS FOR ATTENTION! I WANTED OUT OF THIS PLACE! IF YOU HAD COME FOR ME LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD, NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING!" he bellowed.  
"We WERE going to come for you on Saturday," Moody growled after a moment. "If you just had the patience to wait. You should know by now that you have to stay here for a certain amount of time."  
Harry said nothing. After a short pause, Lupin looked at his watch and pulled out an empty Butterbeer Bottle.  
"We should be going now. The others are probably worried," he said.  
Harry wondered for a moment whether he was going with them, until Lupin fixed his reproving gaze on him and said, "Get your things, Harry. We'll talk later." Harry nodded and gathered the rest of his things. He shoved them into his trunk sloppily. Lupin took Hedwig's cage and Tonks, the firebolt.  
"Brilliant idea, Harry," she whispered brightly so only Harry heard, while the others took hold of the empty bottle.  
"Dumbledore set it up," Lupin said, "Take hold." Harry put a finger on the bottle and held the handle of the trunk with his free hand. There was the familiar tug behind his navel and a second later, they were standing in the kitchen of Grimmauld place.  
"Oh, Harry! Thank Merlin you're alright!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, hugging him tightly, "I was so worried!"  
If there was anything that could really lay the guilt on him, it was that. "I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," he said.  
"Mum, you're strangling him," Fred said, smiling.  
"What happened?" she asked, letting him go.  
"Go ahead," growled Moody, "Tell them."  
"I'll explain later," Lupin said, saving Harry the trouble of answering.  
Harry was grateful, seeing the large crowd of people in the room. He didn't want to have to explain in front of all of them. Mrs. Weasley threw Lupin a curious look before turning back to Harry.  
"We've already finished supper, dear, but if you'd like something to eat, I'll get you it," she said kindly. "No, thank you. I think I'll just go up to bed. I'm really tired," he said.  
"Oh, of course. Ron will help you take your things up," she said.  
Ron took an end of the trunk and Hermione took Hedwig's Cage. They made their way into the hall, with Fred, George, and Ginny following. Harry saw black scorch marks on the wall where the portrait of Sirius's mother once was. Almost all of the portraits were gone now, including the plaques with House Elf heads that lead up the stairs. The old house brought back floods of memories but Harry bit back on his tears. "So, what happened?" Ron asked eagerly once they got into the room.  
"Yeah, Moody didn't look happy," George said.  
"Nothing," Harry said, grinning.  
"Nothing? What do you mean? Then why didn't you write us?" Hermione asked.  
"Because if I did, I wouldn't be here right now," he said. His guilt seemed to drift away as he thought it was worth it to be here with his friends, instead of at the Dursleys.  
Fred laughed, "Harry, that was--"  
"Brilliant!" George said.  
"Genius!" Ron said.  
"Great!" Ginny said.  
"Horrible!" Hermione said, "You had everyone worried!"  
"Come on, Hermione, you don't know what it's like at the Dursley's. They're horrible," Harry said, imploringly. He didn't want her mad at him the first day he was back. She shook her head exasperatedly.  
"So, what's been going on here?" Harry asked, changing the subject.  
"Not very much that you don't already know. Everything's been in the papers. Everyone is really surprised that there aren't many attacks," she said.  
"From what we've heard through the extendable ears, the giants are with Voldemort as are the vampires. And the goblins are staying neutral, though they did say they would never join the dark side. But that's all," Ron continued.  
"What about you two? Aren't you in the order now that you've left school?" Harry asked.  
Ron snorted with laughter, as did Ginny. Hermione was smiling contentedly. "What?" Harry asked confusedly.  
"They aren't done with school, yet," Ron grinned.  
Harry looked at the twins, puzzled, "Isn't the joke shop doing well?"  
"Booming!" Fred said, "But mum says we have to go back. Dad too. They've even got Dumbledore in on it. He sent us letters accepting us back into Hogwarts and everything."  
"We flat out refused to go back. Then they stated playing dirty. They told us we had to finish school to be in the order," George said.  
"So, of course, we start school again September first," Fred said, "But Dumbledore says we can go to Hogsmeade and apparate to the shop for weekends." "Should have just stuck it out with Umbridge last year," Ron said.  
"Hey, Harry, did you hear the bad news?" George said, "Ginny's been made prefect."  
"It isn't my fault! I didn't ask for it!" she retorted.  
"But you did get it. The fifth prefect in the family," George said with a look of mock disgust.  
"Yes, and you two are the only eighth years to ever attend Hogwarts," she said.  
"And proud to be so!" Fred said happily, taking her insult as a compliment.  
They all started laughing. Harry was glad to be away from Privet drive and even gladder to be with his friends. 


	2. Order Meeting

Chapter Two - Order Meeting  
  
As he made his way down the hall, to the stairs for breakfast early the next morning, tears once again stung his eyes. He couldn't hold them back very well this time, as memories of Sirius came to him. He wiped at his face with the back of his hand. He turned around and walked past his and Ron's room. He kept going, until he reached the room Buckbeak stayed in the year before. He wasn't surprised to see the hippogriff still there. But Lupin was there, also. Harry saw that he was crying, too, and turned around.  
  
"S-Sorry," Harry stuttered. He just then realized he wasn't alone in grieving for Sirius. Lupin had been one of his best friends. Lupin had lost both of his best friends.  
  
"Wait. No, it's okay. Don't worry, Harry," he said, somehow smiling through his tears.  
  
"I didn't mean to just walk in, Professor," Harry said.  
  
"Please, call me Remus, Harry," he said, wiping away his tears.  
  
"Right. Um…" Harry started awkwardly, but then couldn't find anything to say. Remus was looking at him, waiting for him to finish, so all he managed was a weak "Are you alright?"  
  
"Fine," he said, "This place does bring back a lot of memories. Doesn't it?"  
  
Harry nodded. He couldn't go for more than five minutes without thinking of Sirius.  
  
"Come here, you might find this interesting," Remus said, indicating an open book on his lap.  
  
Harry sat at Remus's side and looked at the book. It was a large photo album, full of moving pictures. Remus pointed to a picture of four teenage boys in Hogwarts robes.   
  
"That was from our fourth year," he said.  
  
"And this is Sirius and your father after a particularly brutal Quidditch game," he motioned towards pictures of the two Marauder's dressed in muddy Quidditch robes.   
  
"What position did Sirius play?" Harry asked.  
  
"Beater. Quite good, too," Remus said. He turned the page to show a new set of pictures.  
  
Harry looked curiously at a picture of Sirius polishing trophies in the trophy room.   
  
"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the picture. Remus laughed.  
  
"I couldn't help but take that picture. It was from second or third year. Sirius' fiftieth detention. James was right behind Sirius by a few. Pathetic thing is it sort of turned into competition between them," he said, "They saw it as something of an honor to have the most detentions."  
  
"I can't say I'm surprised," Harry smiled.  
  
Harry sat with Remus for hours, looking through the old photo album, reminiscing about Sirius and listening to Remus's stories from when they were young. Harry felt as though the ache that was Sirius's death had eased a little when he left.   
  
The rest of the day went by uneventfully by normal standards. Fred and George were experimenting with new products for their shop. It seemed their line of Skiving Snack Boxes was complete at last, as almost everyone at lunch fell ill in one form or another until the twins handed out the proper antidotes. And Harry quickly declined when they asked if he would help them with some new product.  
  
That evening, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins were ushered upstairs to their rooms by Mrs. Weasley while Order members filed in for a meeting.   
  
"Let's use the invisibility cloak," Ron suggested, "We might be able to listen in on some news."  
  
"Don't be thick. It's too crowded down there," Fred said.  
  
"And Moody's eye can see through it, anyway," Harry said.  
  
"Damn!" Fred swore as he searched his pockets, "I left the Extendable Ears in the kitchen!"  
  
"Just open the door a bit," Ginny said.  
  
Ron pulled the door open a crack and peered out, "Snape just came in."  
  
Fred shoved Ron out of the way and looked out to where Snape stood.   
  
"Give me a piece of parchment and quill," he said to Ginny, an impish grin on his face.  
  
She handed them to him with an equally mischievous grin. Fred took the quill in hand and wrote in bold black letters:  
  
CAUTION:  
  
- GREASE MAY DRIP FROM HAIR -  
  
He tapped the scrap of parchment with his wand and guided it along the wall down to the hallway below them. Once it was at the back of Snape's robes, he muttered, "Affikse."  
  
They all fell into fits of laughter and had to shut the door as to not be heard. When they finally recovered some ten minutes later, Ron risked a peek down the stairs, giving them a full account of what he was seeing  
  
"They're all just standing around, most likely waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. Snape's skulking in a corner. Not very social, is he? McGonagall is talking with Lupin. Tonks just knocked something over. No surprise there. I can't see very well," he opened the door a bit more and stuck his head out, "There's a group of people I've never seen before. They look like they're from the ministry. Not very much going on. I wish I could hear what they're saying. Someone just came in. Dumbledore. Uh oh. Here comes mum," he swiftly shut the door with a soft click, his eyes wide, "Don't think she saw me. Hope not, anyway."  
  
He grabbed the nearest book from the floor, pretending to be reading. The others did things along the same lines. Just as Harry opened his broom polishing kit, the door opened.  
  
"You all are behaving?" Mrs. Weasley asked suspiciously, her eyes lingering on Fred and George.  
  
"Yes," they said a little too quickly.  
  
"Kingsley said he saw someone peeking out this door," she said eyeing them all.  
  
"Not us. We were busy testing some new products on Harry, Ron, and Ginny," Fred said, trying to get his mother's focus on something else.  
  
"You had better not be, Fred Weasley! If--"she was cut short by Mr. Weasley.  
  
"Molly, the meeting's about to start!" he called from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Behave," she said warningly before leaving.  
  
"There has to be some way to be able to listen in," Harry said.  
  
"Don't you know any spells we can use, Hermione?" Ginny asked, hopefully.  
  
"I tried but couldn't think of any," she said.  
  
"What room is above the kitchen?" Harry asked, an idea coming to him.  
  
"We were trying that earlier this summer, before you guys came back from Hogwarts. But the door won't open. It wouldn't budge a bit," George said.  
  
"Let's go have a try, though. Maybe Hermione knows a spell or something," Ron shrugged.  
  
"With us, then," Fred waved them to follow. They carefully snuck down the hall. Fred and George led them to the door and Ron tried the handle. It turned but the door wouldn't move when he pushed.  
  
"Let's just blow it up," he suggested.  
  
"Oh yes, mum would love that," Fred said sarcastically.  
  
"We think there's some kind of charm or spell on it," George said.  
  
"I don't think there is. Have you tried using any spells on it to get it open?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yeah, only a few simple ones to try and unlock it," Fred said.  
  
"And you weren't thrown across the room or anything?" she asked.  
  
They shook their heads, "No. Er- why?"  
  
"Because if there were a spell on this door and you tried to break it like that, its force would blast you away from it. There's probably just something heavy blocking it," she said, knowledgably, "That's probably why no one else has attempted to open it yet. They probably thought there was some powerful magic on it or something."  
  
"It would make sense. I mean, Sirius's parents weren't exactly..." Ron trailed of, glancing nervously at Harry, "Sorry."  
  
"Don't. You don't need to do that. I mean tiptoeing around me like that," he muttered quickly and changed the talk back to that of the door, "So, how do we get through this door, then, Hermione?"  
  
"There's a simple spell that should work," Hermione said, "Just use the summoning charm on these bolts. Then the door will come right out of the frame."  
  
"You're kidding?" Ron said, "It was that easy? Nothing is ever that easy for us. We'll probably get this open and a swarm of somethings will attack us."  
  
"I wouldn't doubt that with our luck" Harry said.  
  
"Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave?" George taunted.  
  
"Only giving you fair warning. Go on then," Harry said.  
  
George aimed his wand at a bolt and muttered, "Accio." The bolt flew out and landed in his hand. He did the same with the other two.  
  
"Hermione, you have to be the sharpest witch I know," Fred admired.  
  
"Thanks," she said, blushing.  
  
Harry, Ron, Fred, and George lifted the heavy wooden door out of its frame and set it aside. No swarms of somethings attacked and Harry was relieved. The room, in fact, seemed quite normal. What was blocking the door was a massive desk that seemed to be of solid wood. They scrambled over the desk into the room. It seemed to be a study or library of some sort. There were shelves upon shelves of books in the large room. Hermione gazed around dreamily.   
  
"This is great Harry," Ron said.  
  
"Hermione, do you know any way we could be able to listen to them down there?" Fred asked. Hermione snapped out of her daze.  
  
"What? Oh, yeah. I do but I can't do magic outside school," she said.  
  
"Me and Fred can," George said.  
  
"It's really really advanced and hard. I can barely get it right myself," Hermione said.  
  
"Hermione, will you just tell us it?" Fred said.  
  
"Exaudio. Just tap the floor and say it, but it's--"  
  
"Really hard," George finished, "We know."  
  
After nearly twenty attempts at the spell by the twins, they could hear muffled voices from the floor where they were tapping it.  
  
"I can't believe you even got that far. You would do so good in school if--" Hermione was cut off again by George.  
  
"Shh. We can barely hear," he said.  
  
They could just make out McGonagall's voice.  
  
"We've been trying for fifteen minutes! It isn't coming off, Severus!" she said exasperatedly.  
  
Then Snape mumbled something. Harry only caught the words, "Damn kids."   
  
They all fell into silent fits of laughter.  
  
"Sorry about this, Severus," Mrs. Weasley apologized, "I'll be sure to have a word with them."  
  
Again Snape muttered. Then Dumbledore's voice was heard, "I must ask for everyone's attention."  
  
All talking stopped abruptly and he continued, "I have some daunting news for you all today. I have heard from three different sources this week that Voldemort has sent Death Eaters to search for the Atrabestas."  
  
Everyone gasped, including Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George. Harry and Hermione looked at them confusedly, but they shook their heads and said they'd explain later. People were beginning to talk again but stopped when Dumbledore began to speak once more.  
  
"It seems to me that the best way to prevent him from getting them is to be the first to find them. I will need a small group to go. Hagrid has already expressed his wish to lead this group. No one will be forced to go," he said, "Is there anyone here that wishes to go along with Hagrid?"   
  
There was ten minutes of whispered conversation between people before anyone spoke aloud.  
  
"Denatius and I wish to go," came the unfamiliar voice of a woman.  
  
"I'll go too," a more familiar voice said.  
  
"Charlie," Mrs. Weasley cried barely above a whisper and Harry heard her muffled sobs. Ginny, Ron, and the twins' faces paled a bit.   
  
"Is that all, then?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
No one else spoke up so Dumbledore began to talk again, "Next is the issue of--"  
  
But what the next issue was, no one heard. They heard a loud bang as someone burst through the door of the kitchen.  
  
"Dumbledore! An attack!" a young man's voice shouted.  
  
"Where at, Raymer?" Moody asked.  
  
"Some muggle village. Little Whinging," he said.  
  
Before the news could fully hit Harry, he felt someone grab him by his arm and pull. It was Ron. The twins, Hermione, and Ginny were already climbing over the desk. Harry followed suit with Ron. As they were fitting the door back into place, they heard the voices come back into the hall below. Hermione and Ginny jammed the bolts back in hastily and they all sprinted back to their room.  
  
The others were talking but Harry barely even hear what they said. He couldn't believe there was an attack on Little Whinging and he couldn't help but hope that the Dursleys were okay. True, they did mistreat him but they were still his family no matter. He didn't want anything to happen them.  
  
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Albus Dumbledore stood, looking intently at Harry. They were all still panting from sprinting down the hall. They tried to steady their breathing. Harry tried to make his face look blank, like he didn't know about the attack.  
  
"Evening, Professor," Harry said politely.  
  
"My great Professor! To what do we owe this wondrous pleasure?" Fred was pushing it. Dumbledore gave a curt smile before speaking.  
  
"I believe you heard what has just transpired in the kitchen?" he asked. They all began to give fake puzzled looks and shake their heads until Moody entered the room and they grinned sheepishly.  
  
"You did not get to hear all of it, having fled before Mr. Raymer finished, though, as Moody tells me," he said, "And Harry, I believe you have a right to know what exactly happened. Raymer had heard from a man at the Hog's Head that something was going to take place in Little Whinging."  
  
"And the fool boy went himself rather than contact us," Moody growled.  
  
"The Dursleys were about to leave to go to London, I believe. As soon as they stepped foot on the sidewalk, two death eaters appeared. They were apparently looking for you. Mrs. Dursley was hit with a particularly strong stunning spell. When the Death Eaters saw that the Dursleys truly did not know where you were, they disapparated," Dumbledore explained.  
  
"That is what they've gotten from the fat one, at least," Moody said.  
  
"Raymer arrived to find them. And so he called in Mediwizards and then he came here to tell us," Dumbledore continued, "Mrs. Dursley will be fine. We will be using memory charms to cover up this particular incident. We do, after all, need you to go back there next summer."  
  
Harry nodded as relief coursed throughout him. He couldn't believe he was actually glad that the Dursleys were all right. Harry wondered if he dared to ask about the meeting. Dumbledore already knew they were there anyway so it couldn't hurt.  
  
"Professor, could I ask you something about the meeting?" he asked.  
  
"Of course," he replied, "Although I may not be able to answer it."  
  
"But last year you said you regretted not telling me things. You saw what happened because of it," Harry said bitterly.  
  
"Yes, I did see. But that was a bit different. As you are now in the care of Mrs. Weasley and she does not wish me say anything to any of you, I shall respect her wishes," he said and smiled as he added, "to an extent."  
  
"Keeping us in the dark won't help anything," Harry muttered.  
  
"Harry, I will tell you everything I think you should know, but some things I must keep to myself. I do not even tell the Order members everything. You must understand," he said.  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"What was it you had wanted to ask, Harry?" Dumbledore pressed.  
  
"What exactly are Atrabestas?" he asked.  
  
"They are terrible creatures, evil to their very core. Not evil like a Dark wizard. A wizard can change their ways. They have free will and can choose the path they wish to take. But Atrabestas are more like a Dementor, dark by nature. Everyone in the wizarding world fears them. Mostly, because we know so little about them. People often fear what they do not know," Dumbledore explained with a grim expression.  
  
"What do they look like?" Harry asked.  
  
"You cannot not describe them, they are so foul. Just know that they are not pleasant," Moody growled.  
  
"What was the other issue you were going to bring up?" Harry asked.  
  
"That was only of the school's defenses and better ensuring them," he said vaguely.   
  
"Surely Voldemort won't attack the school!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"It is always better to be prepared. I am sure that all of my students are in no immediate danger," he said confidently.  
  
"We should get back to the meeting," Moody said.  
  
"I do ask that you do not visit that study until the meeting comes to a close," Dumbledore said. They all nodded, rather disappointedly.  
  
"And before it slips my mind, as most things tend to, these are for you," he said, handing Fred and George two scarlet and gold badges.   
  
"What is this?" Fred and George both exclaimed, looking at him as if they expected him to yell 'Just kidding!'  
  
"Your Prefect badges," Dumbledore replied, smiling, "There are two prefects from each house and year. And as you two are my only eighth years, you were chosen. I do believe I had told you once that the only way you would be chosen as Prefects is if you were the only choices."  
  
For about the third time that night, everyone fell into fits of laughter. Even Dumbledore was chuckling lightly as he left.  
  
While they waited for the meeting to come to an end, Fred and George entertained them, trying to jinx their badges to make them a bit more interesting. George had managed to make his give off a red glow and the lion on Fred's roared loudly whenever touched with his wand. They were even kind enough to fix up Ginny's when asked to. Ron seemed rather protective of his and shoved it into one of his pockets.  
  
The sound of voices in the hall downstairs half an hour later announced the conclusion of the meeting. The group was heading down to the kitchen to eat dinner when Harry saw Dumbledore lead Tonks and Remus into the Drawing Room and shut the door.   
  
"Dumbledore, Remus, and Tonks are in there discussing something," he said to the others, motioning at the door, "What do you s'pose that's about?"  
  
"The Extendable Ears. They might still be in the kitchen," George said hopefully.  
  
Harry darted down to the kitchen and after looking around for a moment, he thought Mrs. Weasley must have found them. Then he saw the flesh-colored strings lying in the trash bin. Apparently she had found them but didn't discard of them well enough. He grabbed the lot of them and raced back up the stairs, handing them out. The strings crawled under the crack in the door and Harry heard Dumbledore's voice.  
  
"So it's all set then. I expect you to be on the Hogwarts train tomorrow at Eleven O'clock, Nymphadora."  
  
Then footsteps could be heard and they tugged on the Extendable Ears just in time. They pocketed them just as the door opened.  
  
"Harry!" Dumbledore called, "Could I have a word with you?"  
  
He knows we were just spying, Harry thought nervously. Slowly, he walked over to Dumbledore.  
  
"Yes, professor?" Harry asked.  
  
"You will need to start your Occlumency lessons again, Harry, as you now know the prophesy, it is imperative that you learn to block Voldemort from your mind," he said.  
  
Harry felt relieved that Dumbledore hadn't known he was spying again, but then angry that Dumbledore wanted him to continue lessons with Snape after what happened last year. He wanted to see Snape no more than he had to.  
  
"I'd rather not," he said curtly.  
  
"You need to. If Voldemort breaks into your mind, he may find the prophesy and if he does, it will not be good," Dumbledore said.'  
  
"You know how I feel about Snape. I won't see him for any longer than I have to," Harry spat the name as if it were something repulsive.  
  
"I had no intentions to have Snape give you the lessons. I will be giving you them, myself. But if I wasn't able to, you would have taken them with him. And if I am away, he will stand-in for me," Dumbledore said firmly, "Mondays. Eight O'clock. I must be going now. I'm sure they're in a right state at the ministry. Bye, Harry."  
  
"Bye, Professor," Harry said briskly. He turned and saw five nervous faces looking at him. He walked with them into the kitchen.  
  
"He didn't know about us spying," he said and their relief showed on their faces.  
  
"What do you think that meeting with Tonks and Lupin was about?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't know. Why is Tonks going to be on the train September first?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, that's pretty obvious," Hermione said, "She'll be watching over you."  
  
Harry groaned, "They had better not be planning on having people following me around all year."  
  
"Hey, what are you all up to?" Remus said as he sat opposite him at the table. He was looking rather happier than usual.  
  
"Hi, Remus. Not much," Harry said.  
  
"I think you might want to start using 'Professor' again so you don't forget when you're at school," he said, grinning broadly.  
  
"You mean you're teaching again?" Harry asked happily.  
  
"So that's what the meet--" Ron started and Harry kicked his shin under the table to shut him up before he said too much.  
  
"Ouch! What was that for?" Ginny asked angrily.  
  
"Sorry, Gin," Harry said.   
  
"I think he meant it for this idiot," Fred said, pointing to Ron.  
  
Remus was looking at them all suspiciously so Harry tried to bring his attention to something else, "What are we learning in Defence this year?"   
  
"You'll have to ask your Defense Professor," he said.  
  
"But, I thought you said-" Harry said.  
  
"I'm teaching Care of Magical Creatures," he said.  
  
"What about Hagrid?" Harry asked.  
  
"Dumbledore told me you heard the first half of the meeting?" Remus asked.  
  
"Oh yeah. The Atrabestas. I forgot," Harry said.  
  
"So, do you know who is teaching Defense?" Fred asked.  
  
"Snape," he said.  
  
"WHAT?" all of them cried, causing a few other occupants of the kitchen to stare at them.  
  
"Calm down. I was only kidding," he said, laughing.  
  
Harry fell back in his chair thanking Merlin he was kidding. Ron still looked a little shocked from the experience. Fred and George were laughing with Remus, finding it a great joke.  
  
"Don't ever do that to us again!" Ron shouted, making everyone laugh harder.  
  
"So, who's teaching Defense?" Ginny asked, when calmed down.  
  
"Annissa Green," he answered.   
  
"Really?" Hermione asked excitedly. "I read about her in Modern Magical History."  
  
"She'll make a very good Defense teacher. She's very experienced dealing with Dark Arts."  
  
"Who is she?" Harry asked.  
  
"Famous auror. She ridded the world of many of Voldemort's dark creatures. But she's most famous for her invention of the Patronus spell. Before that, there was no way to fight a dementor. Wizards had no means of defense against them. She wanted to go with Hagrid, but Dumbledore said he needed her at the school. One, to teach. And two, in case of any attacks," Remus said.  
  
"Dumbledore said we didn't have to worry about the school being attacked," Hermione said.  
  
"You can never be sure, though. It would be better to be prepared, than defenseless," Remus replied.  
  
"Supper will be ready much sooner if I have some help," Mrs. Weasley hinted, cutting off their conversation.  
  
They all stood to help with something. Ron and Harry took out the dishes and set the table. As Harry was carrying over a handful of spoons, Mrs. Weasley began storming.  
  
"George! You fix that badge and give it back to whoever it belongs to, this instant!" she yelled.  
  
"But mum--"  
  
"Fix it now or I'll fix you, George Weasley!" she continued to yell.  
  
Fred took out his own badge in an attempt to explain to his mother, but she didn't let him get a word in.  
  
"Both of you! Give those back!" she raged.  
  
"They are our badges!" George finally managed to get in.  
  
"Don't you give me any of that nonsense! I--"  
  
Ginny cut her short, "It's true. Dumbledore came up earlier and gave them the badges."  
  
Mrs. Weasley looked at them incredulously.  
  
"He said that to every year and house, there are two prefects and as Fred and George are the only eighth years, they get the badges," Hermione confirmed.  
  
Mrs. Weasley looked about to faint. Remus helped her into a chair to sit.  
  
"Prefects? Fred and George?" she asked, absolutely astounded.  
  
The twins beamed brightly at her and nodded, apparently pleased with themselves. They were caught by surprise when she drew the two of them into a tight hug.  
  
"Then that is everyone in the family!" she exclaimed, "Oh, I couldn't be any prouder! I'd never have imagined it! Prefects!"   
  
"It's only because we were the only choice," Fred said, as if explaining for performing some wrongdoing, "It wasn't our fault."  
  
Mr. Weasley walked into the kitchen at that moment and his face filled with shock at the sight of Mrs. Weasley hugging and praising the twins.  
  
She caught sight of him and exclaimed, "Prefects, Arthur! Prefects!"   
  
"Not Fred and George?" he asked, shocked.   
  
"Hey! Now why's everyone always so surprised when they hear?" Fred asked, causing another round of laughter.  
  
After a jovial supper, Harry went to bed with his ribs sore from all of the laughing he did since his return to Grimmauld Place. He felt truly happy for the first time since Sirius's death a few months ago. 


	3. Return To Hogwarts

Chapter Three - Return To Hogwarts  
  
Time flew by and soon it was the day before their return to Hogwarts. Harry had rarely seen Mr. Weasley, who was incredibly busy with Order and Ministry work. The twins, too, were very rarely seen since Harry's first day back, being at their shop all day. The only time everyone was home was for dinner and sometimes not even that.  
  
After a hurried breakfast, Mrs. Weasley took a pot of floo powder from a cupboard and everyone took a pinch. They would be going to Diagon Alley accompanied by Mr. Weasley, Remus, Moody, and, of all people, Mundungus Fletcher.  
  
Once in Diagon Alley, Moody walked up ahead of them, Mundungus behind, and Remus directly beside Harry. He was surprised how deserted the once packed wizarding shops were. The atmosphere was cheerless, even forbidding.  
  
"No one leaves their house unless it is absolutely necessary anymore. The ministry is encouraging it. Diagon Alley hasn't been this empty for fifteen years," Remus explained, "Mrs. Weasley didn't want you lot to come, but Dumbledore thought it best if you all got out for a bit after being shut inside for all of your summer break."  
  
Their first stop was Gringotts bank. They had to take down separate carts down, as there wasn't enough room for all of them in one. Harry rode down with Remus and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took a different one with Hermione, while Moody and Mundungus stayed with the others. When they arrived at his vault, Harry noticed that his money pile was incredibly larger than last time. He also noticed a stack of parchment in the far corner. His puzzlement must have shown because Remus spoke up.  
  
"Sirius, he left everything to you. Those are the deeds to his house, bike, and all of his other belongings," he said softly, "I didn't know when to tell you."  
  
Harry shoved a pile of Galleons, sickles, and knuts into his bag. He wasn't sure how he felt about all of this. He picked up the papers, flicking through them and stopped at the one to Sirius's flying motorcycle.  
  
"Where is the bike?" he asked Remus.  
  
"It's in the back yard at Grimmauld Place. I'll take you to see it when we get back, "Remus said, "Merlin, how he'd loved that thing."  
  
"I still can't believe he's gone," Harry whispered, choking back tears. Remus put a comforting arm around him.  
  
Harry quickly collected himself and pocketed the papers to look through later. He climbed back into the cart and they were winding back up the slope into the light again. Harry couldn't help but laugh as he saw Remus begin to look like Hagrid did when he first traveled in the cart. Then the cart began to lose its speed abruptly and as it made a sharp turn, Harry felt his own stomach lurch, and the smile slid away.  
  
"Look who's laughing now," Remus said with a smile before the cart stopped completely.  
  
Their next stop was Madam Maulkin's for robes. Harry and Hermione felt a bit bad as they were fitted and the Weasley's went to the second-hand shop across the street to get theirs. Moody argued about them splitting up, even if it was just across the street, but they ignored his protests.  
  
Next, they went to the bookshop. They took out their book lists and handed them to the shopkeeper. While waiting for his books, Harry wandered down the aisles with Hermione, who was already carrying a load of five or six books, and she hadn't even gotten the ones from her list yet. Remus followed them, careful not to let Harry too far away from him, but walking far enough behind to give him his space.  
  
"Harry, look here!" Hermione said excitedly, shoving a book under his nose. Occlumency: Beginner's Edition the title read.   
  
"Oh wow," Harry said dully.  
  
"Are you going to be taking those lessons with Snape this year?" she asked.  
  
"No. Dumbledore's giving them to me this year. Snape will only give them if he's away," Harry said.  
  
"Oh, good. I thought you might not want to," Hermione said.  
  
"Dumbledore isn't really giving me a choice," Harry muttered resentfully.  
  
"You have to--Oh this is ridiculous!" she put her pile of now seven books on the ground, "Do you think they have a catalog I can just order from rather than carry all of these?"  
  
"They're right at the front desk," Remus said. Harry could see that he related to Hermione better than anyone else with the whole book thing. He and Hermione sat at a table and poured over it excitedly.  
  
After all of the books were bought, they went to what was supposed to be their final stop. The group stocked up on quills, ink, and parchment. Then Ginny reminded her mother of the pet she had been promised for making prefect and the boys all made a fuss about wanting to go into the Quidditch shop. So as Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Hermione went to the Magical Menagerie accompanied by Moody and Mundungus, the rest of the group went to Quality Quidditch Supplies. They agreed to meet at The Leaky Cauldron when they were finished.   
  
At the shop, Harry couldn't help but buy tons of new equipment. He spent more than half of the money in his bag in the shop.  
  
"Look at the new broom!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
"Wow," was all Harry could manage as he inspected the new product.  
  
"Nimbus 2004," Ron marveled.   
  
"We'll take two," Fred said. The shopkeeper excitedly brought out two of the new model and gave them to each of the twins. Their shopping didn't stop there. They bought new equipment for themselves and even got Ron a few things.  
  
"Our team has to have the best of everything," George explained, when Ron was caught by surprise by this, "It's our last year at Hogwarts and we aren't going to lose that cup."  
  
"Not going to happen," Fred said, looking at a new model of beater bats.  
  
"Excuse me, do you have any muggle brooms we can buy?" George asked, earning a funny look from the shopkeeper.  
  
"No, but you can get them next door at Odeon's Oddities," he answered, "They have all kinds of weird things like that."  
  
"What do you want a muggle broom for?" Ron asked curiously.  
  
George grinned, "Experimenting. Me and Fred been thinking about starting our own line of brooms."  
  
"I'm guessing business isn't too bad?" Harry asked.  
  
"Fantastic!" Fred said happily.  
  
"Hey! Harry didn't get to see the shop yet!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
The twins brought this to Remus's attention and after a lot of persuasion, they headed down the cobbled street for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, stopping briefly at the shop filled with different muggle objects so the twins could get their brooms. They came out each carrying about ten.   
  
Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes stuck out admirably. It was colored a bright blue with a yellow sign. When Harry walked in, he saw bursts of different color from every direction. Rows and rows of different items lined the shop.  
  
"Wow, this is great," Harry said, looking at shelves of different kinds of sweets and other trick goods.  
  
"Come up here," George said, "The test room."  
  
Harry followed hesitantly up the spiraling stairs. There was a long hall with many doors. The twins threw the brooms into an empty room and led him around in a tour.  
  
"These are new snacks we're working on. You know how Muggles talk about caffeine getting them all hyper and what not? Well, we devised a new potion to make a person so hyper, they'll be doing back-flips for the whole night," George said, showing him into a room, with a cauldron full of some steaming potion.  
  
"Still working on it though," Fred said, "Now these are very fun."  
  
They walked into a room that was splattered with different colored paint.   
  
"You know how muggles have those neat guns that shoot each other with paint? We get most of our ideas from muggles, if you haven't noticed. Well, anyway, we got hold of a few of those paint ball things and have been working on them to explode into patterns and different colors," George said.  
  
Fred led them into the next room, "This is where we've been working on Wild Wands. Stick this little thing to the end of your wand and it turns it a different color or pattern. Far from done with those, though."  
  
"Cost us a fortune with all the wands we had to buy to experiment with. We hope to finish the solid color ones by Christmas. Then we'll move on to the patterns," George said.  
  
"The next room is a surprise product we're working on. Can't show anyone yet. We're almost finished. They'll be ready when the Quidditch season starts, though," Fred said.  
  
"Good work, boys. Very Proud," Mr. Weasley beamed at them, "Well, if you're finished here, we better get to the leaky cauldron. Moody'll have a fit if we're any more late."  
  
"We want to stay here and work on the brooms a bit but we'll be home for dinner," Fred said.  
  
"Can't we stay with them?" Ron asked.  
  
"No. Out of the question. Fred and George can apparate if there's any trouble, but you two won't be able to escape quickly enough. Sorry, boys," Mr. Weasley said.  
  
"Now before you leave, you must sign this," Fred brandish a sheet of parchment at them.  
  
When they all looked questioningly at him, George explained with a grin, "It's a magical contract. You cannot tell a single soul of what you have seen, heard, smelt, or tasted in these test rooms or most unpleasant things will happen to you."  
  
They were all forced to sign before hurrying to the Leaky Cauldron to meet the others and floo back to Grimmauld Place. After an exhausting day, Harry turned in for some sleep before he returned to Hogwarts the next day.  
  
A small sandy haired boy of only five was running down an empty dirt road during the early hours of the evening. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was crying out to his parents for help.   
  
"Mommy! Daddy!" he cried desperately, "Help me!"  
  
He could hear the monstrous thing behind him, chasing him down. He was almost there. Only a little further, he thought. But he wasn't going to make it. The monster was just too close. And just as he reached the front lawn of his home, he felt searing pain as its jaws clenched down upon his leg. Falling to the ground, he saw the face of his attacker before it was stunned by his father. It's gleaming yellow eyes, long snout, and mass of brown fur were burned into his memory forever. The pain was indescribable. He was sobbing into the grass.   
  
"Didn't like that, now did we Harry?" a cold voice Harry recognized as belonging to Voldemort hissed before Harry was thrown back into reality.  
  
Ron was standing at the side of his bed, looking scared. Harry's leg prickled like something was irritating it. He sat up and wiped the sweat from his head.  
  
"Are you okay, mate?" he asked, "You were screaming for your parents and crying."  
  
"Fine," he answered mindlessly. He was confused for a moment but then his dream, if you could call it that came back to him. He sat up and wiped the sweat from his head.  
  
"Are you sure? Not another one of those vision things, is it?" Ron asked. He looked exceptionally worried.  
  
"I don't think so. More like a memory," he whispered, "It was like something that happened to me a while ago. But it didn't. It just felt like it did. I think I was being attacked by a werewolf."  
  
"Harry, you should tell someone if those vision things are starting again," Ron urged.  
  
"Of course. I'll just go wake up the whole house to tell them I had a scary dream," Harry said sarcastically.  
  
"You know they aren't regular dreams," Ron said, "I don't think you've ever had a regular dream. You should tell Dumbledore."  
  
"Dumbledore knows I have weird dreams. There's nothing he or anyone else can do," Harry said.  
  
"He should still at least hear about them," Ron said.  
  
"Look, if I have another one, I will, if it makes you happy. Okay?" Harry said, not intending to do so at all. He knew what Dumbledore would say, to continue with Occlumency and ignore the dreams.  
  
"Okay. And as soon as I hear you so much as whimper in your sleep, I'm going to send for Dumbledore," Ron said seriously.  
  
"Fine. I'm going back to bed," Harry yawned. This was a lie; Harry knew sleep wasn't going to come. Ron climbed into his own bed and was snoring again in minutes. Harry lay awake staring at the ceiling for hours as it very slowly lightened with the rising sun. He couldn't get over how real that dream felt. He had even felt his leg prickle when he woke, and the voice, Voldemort's voice. That was too real.   
  
Finally, morning broke and everyone was soon up. The morning of the departure to Hogwarts was always hectic. Six students ran around the house, trying to retrieve all of their belongings. Harry soon forgot his dream in all of the commotion. He was trying to fit his new Quidditch things into his trunk and Ron was searching frantically for his other sneaker, when Mrs. Weasley came in.   
  
"Only an hour until the train leaves! Hurry up or we're going to miss it!" she exclaimed, and seeing Harry struggle trying to jam everything into his trunk, she pulled out her wand, "Here you go, dear. Dilato."  
  
Harry watched as his trunk became more spacious before his eyes. He easily fit the rest of his belongings inside.  
  
"Thanks," he said.  
  
"No trouble, dear. Now let's get going before we're late," she said, bustling out of their room and towards Fred and George's.  
  
Harry packed his trunk into the magically expanded muggle cab with the two others. Then he climbed into the backseat with Hermione and Ron. Each had their pet on their laps. Mr. Weasley sat in the front. Mrs. Weasley rode with Fred, George, and Ginny in the other cab.   
  
The ride to King's Cross was a noisy one. Pigwidgeon flew around in his cage animatedly, aggravating Hedwig, who hooted shrilly the whole way. Crookshanks spat and hissed, obviously not enjoying the basket he was being kept in.  
  
The driver looked relieved when they arrived at King's Cross and the group got out. Harry helped an excited Mr. Weasley pay the cab driver. Then they got a trolley and hurried to the barrier, once again running late, as they always did.  
  
"You two go first," Mrs. Weasley said to Harry and Ron, obviously remembering back to their second year, when they had flown the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts.  
  
Harry and Ron took for the barrier together at a quick pace, emerging onto platform nine and three-quarters. There were a few lingering students left giving quick good-byes to their parents and hurrying onto the trains.  
  
Mr. Weasley came through the barrier soon after them with Ginny. Then Hermione, the twins and Mrs. Weasley.   
  
"Good-bye, dears. Write us. See you for Christmas," Mrs. Weasley gave each of them a hug and ushered them onto the train.  
  
"Bye," they called as they climbed aboard the train.  
  
The train whistle blew and it began to roll along the tracks picking up speed.   
  
"We have to go to the prefect's compartment. We're going to hurry back, though," Ron said.  
  
"This ought to be fun," George smirked. Both Fred and he had their modified badges pinned to the front of their cloaks.   
  
"Very fun," Fred agreed.  
  
"See you, then," Harry said.  
  
He dragged his trunk along the train, searching for an empty compartment. Most seemed to be full or have people Harry did not want to sit with. As he was nearing the end of the train, he heard Neville call his name from behind him. Harry turned to say hi and walked into a brown haired girl he'd never seen before. She was coming out of the compartment door to his right.  
  
"Sorry about that," he said, unknowingly running his hands through his hair. He noticed how pretty she was and his stomach did a bit of flip flop.  
  
"No big deal," she shrugged, "Whitley Nott, by the way."  
  
"Harry Potter," he said and was happily surprised when she saw this as nothing.  
  
"Oh yeah, the Gryffindor seeker," she said, "I'm beater for--"  
  
She was cut off by Neville, "Harry we have a compartment at the end of the train."  
  
"Okay, Neville," he said biting back his urge to knock Neville's round head into next week. He wanted to talk with Whitley a bit more.  
  
"So, I'll see you around, then," she smiled.  
  
"Yeah. See you around," he said.  
  
He drug his trunk to the last compartment and put it on a rack. Inside was Luna and another girl Harry didn't recognize. Her golden-brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes had a startling azure color to them.  
  
"Harry. Nice to see you again," Luna said, looking up from the Quibbler. Harry was beginning to think she went nowhere without it.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Luna," he said, sitting across from her beside the other girl.  
  
"This is Aira Bowden, Harry. She's new to our school. Transferred from some school in North America," Neville said.  
  
"Hello," she smiled.  
  
"Hi," Harry said returning the smile, "So, what year are you in?"  
  
"My sixth," she answered, "I'm pretty nervous about starting here."  
  
"Don't be. It's a great school. Teachers aren't too bad. And neither are the students," Harry said.  
  
"As long as they're not in Slytherin," Neville added.  
  
"Slytherin?" she put on a confused expression.  
  
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know. There's four houses and the new students are sorted between them. We're in Gryffindor," Neville said proudly, "Luna is in Ravenclaw."  
  
"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure," she said, as she had the year before when Ginny had said she was in Ravenclaw.  
  
"What are the classes like?" Aira asked.  
  
"They're always a good time. Unless you have Potions," Harry said.  
  
"Not for me this year," Neville said happily.  
  
"Lucky you. I need them to be an auror," Harry said, "I hate Snape with a passion."  
  
"Snape's a slimy git," Aira muttered.  
  
"You know Snape?" Harry asked.  
  
"I met him when I was getting my schoolbooks," she said.  
  
"Harry, you might like to look at this. It's an interesting read," Luna said, handing him her magazine.  
  
Harry burst out laughing as he read the title of the article.  
  
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, PLANNING TO ELOPE WITH MINISTER OF MAGIC, CORNELIUS FUDGE  
  
"What's so funny?" Aira asked.  
  
Harry held the magazine so she could see and she began to laugh, also.   
  
"I'm sure Albus would love that one," she said.  
  
"You know Dumbledore?" Harry asked, still laughing.  
  
"My parents did," she said quickly.  
  
Harry began to read the first paragraph out loud sending them into fits of laughter once again as the compartment door slid open.  
  
"Hi Harr-- Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to bother you," Cho said, glaring at Aira, who was leaning against Harry laughing. She stormed out of the compartment slamming the door shut.  
  
"What's her problem?" Aira asked.  
  
"I gave up trying to figure out long ago," Harry said, as the compartment door slid open again. This time Ron, Hermione, and Ginny entered.  
  
"What did you do to Cho this time, Harry? She looked ready to spit fire storming away from here," Ron said.  
  
"I probably breathed the wrong way. You know how she is," Harry said.  
  
Hermione gave him a reproving look, "It's been hard for her, Harry. She's had a lot to deal with."  
  
"Well, it isn't like life's been a piece of cake for me either," he said.  
  
Hermione ignored him, "Hi Neville, Luna. And, I don't think we've ever met."  
  
"I'm Aira. Transferred from Veneficus Academy," Aira introduced herself.  
  
"I'm Hermione. And this is Ron and Ginny," Hermione said kindly. They all took seats. Ginny began chatting animatedly with Aira. T hey seemed to take to one another quickly.  
  
"Hey, I was talking with Seamus and he says he's going to try out for the team this year," Ron said.  
  
"We'll need chasers," Harry said.  
  
"How many?" Ginny asked, narrowing her eyes a bit.  
  
"Don't worry, Gin. You're on the team," Harry said.  
  
"I was a chaser for a team at Veneficus. If I'm in Gryffindor, I'll be trying," Aira said.  
  
"Are you any good?" Ron asked.  
  
"Pretty good. Our team was third in the school competition," she said.  
  
"What about the beaters?" Ron asked Harry, "Fred and George are back."   
  
"We'll keep those other two as reserve beaters. We can train them so they're good for next year when Fred and George leave. We should get reserve chasers, keeper, seeker, too. Especially with my habit of missing games due to certain circumstances," Harry grinned.  
  
It was until lunch that they discussed the upcoming team and who would be good to play, though they were careful to not reveal too much, with Aira there. They weren't sure if she would be put in Gryffindor. Harry bought a ton of snacks, as he usually did and the group ate through them. Then they traded Chocolate Frog cards, having a good time until Malfoy showed up with Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"Potter, you do have a habit of choosing the oddballs," he sneered looking distastefully at Aira.  
  
"Shut your fucking mouth, Malfoy. I'm not going to take any of your shit this year," Harry stood glaring at him.  
  
Aira stood, too. She looked torn between the urge to hex Malfoy and stop the fight. She settled for glaring at him warningly.  
  
"Oh no, boys. We better leave. This looks like a dangerous group here," Malfoy laughed, "Look, I think the mudblood is getting angry."  
  
He pointed at Hermione. She looked like she wanted to attack Malfoy herself, though Harry knew she wouldn't. They were all taken by surprise when Luna pulled her wand from behind her ear, pointing it at Malfoy's mouth and muttered, "Scourgify." nonchalantly. She returned to her book as if nothing happened at all. Pink suds were pouring from Malfoy's mouth like they did from the taps in the prefect's bathroom.   
  
Everyone in the compartment started laughing at him. Even Hermione thought it humorous. Goyle grinned thickly and Malfoy smacked him in the head. He took off with his cronies following after him.  
  
Later that evening, Whitley surprised Harry when she came for a visit.  
  
"Hey," she grinned as she entered. Harry introduced her to his friends. She sat down next to Harry and he attempted conversation.  
  
"So you said played Quidditch?" Harry asked.  
  
"Live for it," she replied, "I went to all the Cannons games this summer. They won their first game in years. And now they're doing really good."  
  
"That's a surprise," Ginny scoffed, receiving scowls from Ron and Whitley.  
  
"She likes Puddlemere," Ron said, "They lost against Cannons this time around, as I recall."  
  
"That was a good game. Close, if Wood had blocked another goal, we'd have lost. But it was no matter," Whitley said.  
  
"Oliver Wood?" Harry asked, "He's not a reserve any more"  
  
"They put him in halfway through last year, when Longhorn took a Bludger to the head," she said, "I'm going to try out for a few teams this summer when I leave Hogwarts. I don't know if I'm good enough, though."  
  
"Are you on a house team?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yeah. I hope I get in more this year. Flint never like to have girls playing. I was only a reserve, if that," she said.  
  
"You're a Slytherin!" Ron burst out.  
  
"Yes. Why?" she asked angrily.  
  
Ron looked at Harry and repeated, "She's a Slytherin."  
  
"I heard you the first time," Harry answered.  
  
Ron shot an angry glare at Whitley and muttered indistinctly. Whitley stood up and made for the compartment door.  
  
"I'll go now, seeing as some don't want me here," she spat and then turned to Harry saying nicely, "I'll see you around, then."  
  
She left and Ginny, Harry, and Hermione all glared at Ron. He looked surprised.  
  
"What?" he asked stupidly.  
  
"That was rude!" Ginny shouted.  
  
"You are such an ignorant pig, Ron Weasley," Hermione said.  
  
"She was a Slytherin," he said looking to Harry for support but Harry only snapped at him.  
  
"Don't even talk to me," he said.  
  
He and the others totally ignored Ron for the rest of the trip. He thought Whitley was really nice. He knew that not all Slytherins couldn't be horrible. The hat had tried to put him in the house once and he knew he wasn't anything like Malfoy or most of the lot. The rest of the trip was tense, with everyone shooting glares at Ron every few minutes. Soon the train began losing it's speed and stopped completely.   
  
As Harry was heading to an empty carriage with his friends, he spotted Whitley with one of her friends. He made his way through the crowd to her.  
  
"Whitley, could I talk to you?" Harry asked. He didn't feel nervous like he did when he liked Cho. He surprisingly felt comfortable talking to Whitley.  
  
"Yeah. Sure," she said.   
  
"I just wanted to apologize for my oaf of a friend. He can be a bit of prat sometimes," Harry said.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I think I overreacted a bit. I know what the other houses think of Slytherins and, actually, I agree with them. Most, well, nearly all are horrible pure-blood maniacs," she said, "But I don't want people to jump to conclusions, thinking I'm like that."  
  
"I don't," Harry said. He liked her more and more every minute.  
  
"Whitley! Come on!" called her friend.  
  
"Well, I have to go," she said.  
  
"Okay. See you," Harry said. He made his way to the carriage his friends were in and deliberately sat next to Ron. He couldn't stand to be mad at him. It didn't really matter, anyway. Whitley wasn't mad at him.  
  
"You're such a prat sometimes," Harry smiled.  
  
"So you're talking to me again?" Ron asked.  
  
"Only if you apologize to Whitley next time you see her," Harry said.  
  
Ron grimaced but muttered, "Okay." Then he laughed and said to Harry, "You like her, don't you?"  
  
"Maybe," Harry blushed.  
  
"You do!" Ron said, "Oh, another girlfriend for ickle Harry!"  
  
"Just like you like Hermione!" Harry said. That wiped the grin off his face, though Hermione, blushing, shot him an angry look.   
  
"I don't like Hermione. She's only a friend," he said a little too seriously to be telling the truth.   
  
"Does," Ginny mouthed. And both of them smirked, making Ron's cheeks tinge red.  
  
"We're only friends," he repeated. 


	4. First Day of Lessons

Chapter Four - First Day of Lessons  
  
Peeves greeted the students in his usual way, harassing them. This year he decided to drop a few dung bombs at the students that were unlucky enough to enter through the oak doors first. Professor McGonagall came in and quickly cleared up the matter straight away.  
  
"Peeves! If you don't get out of this hall this instant, I'll get the Bloody Baron," she threatened.  
  
"Don't think I won't be back," he said, blowing a raspberry and dropping the rest of the dung bombs onto a group of Hufflepuff third years.  
  
McGonagall cleaned the mess with a simple wave of her wand. Harry was following the chattering crowd into the Great Hall when Professor McGonagall stopped him.  
  
"Mr. Potter, I need a quick word with you," she said steering him away from the doors to the Great Hall.   
  
He didn't think he had done anything wrong, yet, unless maybe Malfoy's foamy mouth, but that was Luna. He thought she was going to lead him to her office but she only took him off to the side.  
  
"Yes, Professor?" he asked.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about your N.E.W.T. classes. You may have noticed you were accepted into Potions with only an 'E'?" she said.  
  
"Yeah," he said, "Why?"  
  
"I had a talk with Professors Dumbledore and Snape and after a long argument he agreed to accept you into his class. There are certain requirements you must meet though. Snape can kick you of the class if you, at any time, disrupt lessons, talk back, or anything else of that sort. Also, you are to not miss a single assignment. You need this class to get into Auror training," she said sternly, "In other words, do not fool around in there."  
  
Harry nodded as he digested this. Potions would be hell this year.   
  
"I must go and bring in the first years. You can go to the Great Hall now," she said.  
  
Harry hurried into the Great Hall and fell into a seat that Ron and Hermione had saved him.   
  
"What was that about?" Ron asked.  
  
"Potions," Harry said shortly, as he saw the line of first years coming in, lead by Professor McGonagall.   
  
The sorting never really kept Harry or Ron's attention. Ron was complaining that he was hungry and Harry was scanning the staff table. Remus was sitting between Professor McGonagall's empty seat and a pretty witch with Raven hair in dark red robes. He figured she must be Professor Green. Looking up and down the staff table, he saw no signs of the new Pure Arts teacher. He was about to point this out Hermione but his attention was drawn to the sorting.  
  
"This year, we have a transfer student, from the United States. It is a rare event, though not unheard of. She will be sorted as the first years were," Professor McGonagall said, "Bowden, Aira."  
  
Aira climbed up to the stool, nervously and sat down. After a long pause, it proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Harry joined in with the rest of the house as they clapped. She smiled brightly as she took a seat proudly at the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore stood and the hall hushed instantly.   
  
He beamed at the students before him and said simply, "Tuck in."  
  
The plates appeared laden with food. Ron was eagerly piling his own dish with a bit of everything he could reach. Hermione tutted and rolled her eyes at him. He either didn't notice or didn't care.  
  
"Why isn't the new teacher up there, you think?" Harry asked Hermione, as he filled his own plate.  
  
"I was wondering that, too. The one beside Professor Lupin is Annissa Green. So the missing one must be for Pure Arts," she said.  
  
"So, Harry, what did McGonagall want with you about Potions?" Ron asked after swallowing a mouthful of steak.  
  
"She said that I'm only in there because she was able to convince Snape into letting me be and so I have to be a good boy in the class or I'm out," he said moodily, "So now I don't only have to sit through the git's class, I have to take his shit, too."  
  
"But you need it to be an auror," Hermione said.  
  
"Doesn't mean I'm going to be happy about it, though," Harry said. He didn't really want to think about his upcoming lessons with Snape so he tried to turn the conversation towards something more agreeable. He asked Aira, was two seats down, "So, are you still interested in trying out for the team?"  
  
"Course I am," she said with zest.   
  
After the feast, Dumbledore stood and gave his usual speech, making reference to the forest being out of bounds, a number of prohibited objects, and a few other things.   
  
Harry felt exhausted as Dumbledore dismissed them off to bed. He was exceptionally glad he wasn't made prefect when he saw a tired looking Ron and Hermione help the first years to Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Harry, you don't mind if I walk with you. I don't really want to be with the little first years," Aira said walking beside him.  
  
"Sure thing," Harry said leading her away from the crowd towards Gryffindor Tower. They didn't talk much on the way, being too tired to make conversation. A seventh year prefect was outside.  
  
"Frilly Socks," the boy muttered and the portrait swung open. Aira followed Harry inside where Hermione was standing at the fireplace, giving the first years a quick briefing while Ron leaned against the wall, eyes drooping.   
  
"Hermione will show you the girls dormitory," Harry said to Aira, "I'm going to head up now. I'm dead tired."  
  
"Goodnight," she said.  
  
"Night," he replied.  
  
Harry drug himself up the stairs and fell into his bed, not bothering to change into bed clothes. As soon as head hit pillow, he was out. If he had expected a good night's sleep on his first day back to Hogwarts, he was wrong.  
  
His normal dreams were interrupted by a snakelike voice that seemed to not come from someone but to just exist in his head.  
  
"Now, Harry. Why bother yourself with this whole game? Dumbledore is an old fool. He doesn't know what to do or how to stop me. I have forces beyond what you or he can comprehend. Just waiting, biding my time a bit more. You can so easily have whatever you would like. Just tell me what I wish to know," the voice of Voldemort said.  
  
"No!" Harry shouted and he awoke with a pain in his scar.  
  
"What's up, mate?" Ron asked tiredly from his bed.  
  
"Er- Crookshanks was up here bothering me," he lied quickly. He didn't want Ron running to Dumbledore like he said he would. He knew he should let Dumbledore know, but on the other hand he was going to be learning Occlumency so this would stop soon.  
  
The next morning was a Monday and so Harry had Occlumency that evening with Dumbledore. At breakfast, they all received schedules. The first lesson of the day was Potions with Snape. Aira and Hermione would be there with him. Ron would be at Care of Magical Creatures during that time and didn't miss the opportunity to gloat about it.  
  
"Should have given it up like me," he said.  
  
"It's raining, Ron. You'll be going out in the rain while I'm inside," Harry said.  
  
"I'd definitely rather be outside in the rain with Lupin than in Potions with Snape any day," Ron replied.  
  
Their next lesson was Transfiguration and after lunch, Harry was glad to see, their was only one class, Pure Arts, a double period with the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors.  
  
Harry ate his breakfast quickly and made his way down to the cold dungeons with Hermione and Aira, while Ron pulled on his cloak and made his way out to Hagrid's hut. In the classroom were only four other students. Harry thought more would probably show up but none did. The class existed of only seven students. As soon as the bell rang, Snape shut the door with a snap and began the lesson.  
  
"All of you in the class, except a select few, have been deemed worthy of studying the more in depth art of potion making. I expect nothing less than perfect from every student. This is, after all, N.E.W.T. level Potions. There will be no more fooling around in this classroom. I will not put up with it from any of you. Get started at this Potion," he snapped, pointing to the board.  
  
Harry worked extra hard to get the potion correct. He ignored the fact that Snape was loudly talking to Malfoy about how incompetent certain students were and staring at him while doing so and he was fairly surprised when his potion was doing exactly what it should, giving off purple steam and yellow sparks.  
  
Snape threw a loathing glare at Harry, as he passed when inspecting the potions. He said nothing about it, meaning Harry had actually managed a pass on his first day's assignment.   
  
"Good job," Hermione whispered to him.  
  
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped suddenly at Hermione, "The only one who shall hand out compliments in this class is me."  
  
"That-" Harry began but stopped himself, remembering McGonagall's warning.  
  
"That's right, Potter. Keep that big mouth of yours shut. Another ten from Gryffindor for almost talking back to me. And be glad it isn't more," he said with a smirk.  
  
Harry desperately wanted to punch his Snape in his crooked nose but held back the temptation. He settled for staring daggers at his greasy haired professor. Snape was only bitter because he could not find a way to give Harry a zero for his days work.   
  
As soon as the bell rang, Harry was out of the door. He wasn't going to spend a second longer than he had to with Snape. Hermione and Aira were at his heels. They met up with Ron in the entrance hall, coming in soaked from his lesson. Hermione performed a quick drying spell for him.  
  
"Thanks. But like I said before, I'd rather be out in the rain with Lupin than dry with Snape," he taunted.  
  
"Shut it," Harry snapped and started up the marble staircase for the Gryffindor common room to drop his Potions things off before going to Transfiguration.   
  
The lesson was a bit tedious as it was only a review of what they did last year. Professor McGonagall set them to work transfiguring spoons into lizards. Harry was surprised when he didn't get by his sixth attempt. Hermione of course did it on her first try. Even Ron had it by his second, though the tail still had a silver tint. All Harry managed was a spoon with scaly legs. He threw his wand down in frustration. It seemed his first day of classes never went well. Hermione hadn't even attempted to tell him what he was doing wrong. She saw he was in one of his moods and this didn't make him feel any better. He put his head down in his arms and closed his eyes.  
  
"Mr. Potter, I believe you are supposed to be transfiguring your spoon," Professor McGonagall said sharply.   
  
"Right," he muttered, picking up his wand.   
  
"Stay after class," she said.   
  
Harry groaned and made another attempt to transfigure the legged spoon, laying before him. He was very grateful when the bell rang and class ended.   
  
"We'll see you at lunch," Ron said gathering his books.  
  
Harry nodded. Once everyone was gone, he went up to Professor McGonagall's desk, expecting to be told off.  
  
"You had your first class with Snape this morning. Correct?" she asked.  
  
Harry looked at her questioningly and nodded.  
  
"If I see that taking the class with him is going to effect your performance in others, I will reconsider my decision to let you take it," she said austerely, "Professor Snape is not going to make the class easy for you. Get over it."  
  
Harry was taken aback by this. He didn't expect anything like that to come out of his Professor's mouth.   
  
"Do you understand me, Mr. Potter?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," he said irritably.  
  
"You may go," she said.  
  
He grabbed his things and left the classroom. He doubted whether she could stand an hour and a half with Snape and come out being happy. He wanted to tell her this, but he thought he'd rather not have a detention that evening.   
  
"There you go," he muttered irately, "Controlled my temper. Isn't that what you wanted me to learn to do?"  
  
"One sign of madness is talking to yourself," someone said from behind him.  
  
He was about to snap at them but when he turned and saw Whitley, his anger abated.  
  
"Oh, hi," he said.  
  
"So I take it today just isn't going well for you?" she asked.  
  
"Not particularly," he said, "So where are you headed?"  
  
"Lunch," she said.  
  
"Me too. We can walk together if you want," he said bravely.  
  
"Okay," she said.   
  
When they entered the great hall, talking and laughing, they got quite a few odd looks, including Cho Chang.  
  
"They seem a bit surprised to see a Gryffindor with a Slytherin, don't they?" Whitley laughed.  
  
"None of their business who we want to be friends with," Harry said.   
  
"I'm in Charms before dinner. So I'll see you then," she grinned.  
  
"Yeah. See you then," Harry said. She sat at the end of the Slytherin table with a few others. Harry sat beside Ron, in much better sprits than earlier. He didn't know how he could have felt so bitter earlier.   
  
"So you really do fancy her?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry shrugged, "I think so."  
  
"I must say this choice is better than your last one," Ginny said, "I always thought Cho was a bit of an idiot."  
  
"But this one is a Slytherin," Ron said.  
  
"Don't," Harry said, "She isn't really like them. She even told me that she thinks most of them are gits. So give her a try."  
  
"She does seem like a nice girl. And just because she's a Slytherin doesn't mean she is a bad person. There are plenty of people who come from bad families but turn out good," Aira said.  
  
"Sirius," Harry almost whispered, "You saw what his family was like."  
  
"Okay," Ron said.  
  
"Wait a minute. Her last name is Nott, isn't it?" Ginny asked.   
  
Harry nodded and then realization dawned on him, "The Department of Mysteries. Nott, he was the Death Eater Hermione stunned."  
  
"That was her father," Ginny said, "I remember hearing Theodore Nott say his father was in Azkaban with Malfoy's on the train."  
  
"I told you," Ron said, "She is--"  
  
"It isn't like that. It doesn't automatically make her a bad person because her family is bad," Aira interrupted, "There are people in every family that are horrible. So don't even begin to think that."  
  
"She's right," Hermione said, though she did look at Aira inquisitively as if trying to decide something.  
  
"I know she is. I like Whitley and I'm still going to be friends with her," Harry said firmly.  
  
Harry left lunch early with Hermione, Ron, and Aira. They were all excited to see what the new class was going to be like. And they still hadn't heard who the new teacher would be.  
  
The classroom was on the first floor. Harry noticed it was the same used by Firenze last year when he came to teach Divination. When they entered, Harry was faintly surprised to see the forest setting that it had been the year before. Harry took a seat against one of the trees and looked around. Their new teacher hadn't arrived yet.  
  
"Do you think Firenze will be the teacher?" Harry asked.  
  
"He can't. Centaurs aren't allowed to do magic," Hermione said.  
  
The rest of the Gryffindors arrived early too. They were all sitting and chatting when the teacher arrived. It was Firenze.  
  
"Good afternoon," he said, "And welcome to the Pure Arts. I believe you all know me from last year's Divination class. This year I shall be teaching the Pure Arts to all of you. For those of you who do not know, the Pure Arts is the ability to do magic without use of wand. Now, before I begin. Do any of you have any questions?"  
  
Seamus Finnigan's hand shot into the air, "I thought Centaurs aren't allowed the use of magic?"  
  
"The law you are speaking of does not grant us permission to own or use a wand. There are no laws prohibiting the use of magic," he said, "Anything else?"  
  
When no one raised their hands, he began again, "I doubt any of you will be able to accomplish much today. Pure Arts is a very difficult study. It will take much practice. Each of you take out a piece of parchment and set it before you. The Pure Arts feeds off your emotions. I'm sure that when you were younger and you got very angry, scared, or happy, you noticed that something odd would happen. Perhaps a breaking toy or a flying pet."  
  
"The blowing up of an aunt..." Ron snickered and Harry grinned.  
  
"Today," Firenze continued, "We will be using anger as a source of power. I want you to concentrate on something that makes you very angry. Then focus on the task at hand, which will be ripping the parchment in front of you without touching it or using your wand. Begin."  
  
Harry looked down at the piece of parchment in front of him. He imagined it being ripped right along the middle. He remembered back to when he had blown up his aunt. He had been pretty angry then. If only he had this class after Potions. He would have caused the paper to rip into tiny shreds. He focused on Snape's pallid face and then on the paper. Nothing happened. Firenze walked around the class, giving help.  
  
"This is hard," Hermione sighed as he approached them.  
  
"Miss Granger, what is something that makes you very angry?" Firenze asked.  
  
"Er-- well, the way people treat house elves, like they are slaves," Hermione said.  
  
Firenze stared down at her intently for a few seconds and then said, "Do you have one particular incident you can focus on?"   
  
"Yes. Mr. Crouch fired his house elf, Winky, at the World Cup two years ago. He was really cruel to her," Hermione said.  
  
"Focus on this until you can feel your self become angry. Then look at the parchment and imagine it being torn," he said, "All of you, do the same with your own memory of something that made you angry."  
  
Hermione closed her eyes as she focused and then opened them, looking at the paper. It crumpled a little bit.  
  
"That is a start. Very good, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor," Firenze said, "All of you try. Five points to everyone who can damage the paper in some way and ten if it rips completely."  
  
Harry focused again on Snape and not his class that morning but the occlumency lessons. How Snape had broken into his mind on countless occasions. How he had weakened his mind, making it so Voldemort could get in as he believed. He opened his eyes, anger coursing through him. He focused it all on that paper and slowly it began to rip down the middle.  
  
"Well done!" Firenze commended as he saw Harry's paper ripping itself.  
  
Harry fell back against the tree. It was exhausting to do wandless magic. Though he also felt like he let go of some of that anger when doing it. At the end of class, Firenze congratulated them all.  
  
"That was good work. Next lesson, we'll continue working on it, though trying a different emotion. Different emotions will work better for some people than for others. Once you all can rip a piece of parchment easily, we will move on to something more challenging. There will never be written homework in this class. I only ask that you practice a bit every day. You are dismissed."  
  
He let them leave ten minutes before the bell rang, something Hogwarts teachers rarely if ever did. Harry went off by himself to the Charms corridor and waited outside Professor Flitwick's class for Whitley.  
  
"Watch it, Potter," a Slytherin seventh year threatened as he came from Flitwick's class as the bell rang.   
  
"Hi, Harry," Whitley said when she emerged, "You're here sooner than I expected."  
  
"You planned on meeting him?" one of the girls scowled, "I always said there was something wrong with Teddy's sister."  
  
"You didn't mention it when you stayed over Tara's with me last summer," Whitley said, "You all know Tara, don't you? Nice muggle born from Ravenclaw."  
  
The girl turned a shade of red and stalked away. Whitley took Harry's arm and they walked away together.  
  
"I need to drop my bag off, first," she said to Harry.  
  
"Okay," he said. He tried to think of something to say and settled lamely on, "How was class?"  
  
"Fine. Did you have Defense, yet?" she asked.  
  
"No. I have it tomorrow," he said.  
  
"Professor Green is a really good teacher. A bit strict, though," she said, "She mentioned a Defense club this year at Hogwarts. The DA. I want to join. I think it would be cool, don't you?"  
  
"I'm already kind of a member," he said.  
  
"You are? But she said that it doesn't start for a few weeks, yet," Whitley said.  
  
"It started last year when we had Umbridge. I led it. It was kind of a secret club. This year we're allowed, though," Harry explained.  
  
"So you're the leader of the club?" she said, impressed.  
  
"I still have to talk to Dumbledore about it. Decide days and stuff," he said, "So you want to join?"  
  
"Yeah, it would be good to learn this stuff," she said as they reached the Dungeons, "I'll be right back."  
  
Harry waited for her outside the entrance and she returned a few minutes later. Harry enjoyed every minute spent with her. He ignored the catcalls coming from a few Slytherins and the looks from others as did Whitley. He sat down with his friends at the Gryffindor table, helping himself to chicken and potatoes.  
  
His mood was the complete opposite of what it had been in the morning, and it didn't even change in the slightest when he made his way to Dumbledore's office for his Occlumency lessons. 


	5. Occlumency Lesson

Chapter Five - Occlumency Lesson  
  
Harry stopped outside the stone gargoyle, the entrance to Dumbledore's office, realizing he didn't know the password.   
  
"Er- Fizzing Whizbee," he guessed with no luck, "Acid Pop. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Chocolate Frog."  
  
The gargoyle sprung open. For a moment he though he had guessed right, but Dumbledore was emerging from the staircase.   
  
"Harry, I didn't think you were going to show up," he said.  
  
"I didn't know the password, sir," Harry said.  
  
"Ah, yes. Forgot about that. The password is Skiving Snackbox. Well come in, then," he said.  
  
Harry stepped onto the stairs and they spiraled up, stopping at the Headmaster's office door. Harry followed him inside. Last time he was here, he had destroyed a number of the headmaster's possessions. At first he felt guilty but then the memory of why he had done it in the first place crept in and pushed aside any feelings of guilt.   
  
"Exactly how far did you and Professor Snape get?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Well, he had seen through all of my childhood and was just beginning on my years at Hogwarts," Harry said mockingly. The whole Occlumency lesson thing from last year was still a touchy subject and he hadn't quite let Dumbledore off for it.  
  
When Dumbledore only gazed at him neither frowning nor smiling, he shifted uncomfortably. For a few seconds, there was silence and then Dumbledore spoke.  
  
"So then I am to start teaching you from the beginning," he said calmly, "Let's begin, shall we? I want you to clear your mind of everything and concentrate only on blocking this spell."  
  
Harry nodded and tried to empty his mind. He thought of nothing but the spell. Dumbledore did not withdraw a wand when he muttered the spell, "Legilimens."  
  
Harry's mind reeled between memories, first focusing on one, then another. First, a Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. He was reaching out for the snitch. Then, the girl's toilet with a potion simmering softly in one of the stalls. Hermione saying it was ready. Then Dobby was sitting on the bed in his room at the Dursley's. Dudley's gang was chasing him across the playground when he was finally able to block the spell. He used his wand to send a spell at Dumbledore, not knowing which he used.  
  
"Impediment jinx. Rather strong," Dumbledore commended, "But I need you to block with your mind, not your wand. You must clear your mind of all emotion."  
  
Harry nodded and tried to focus on nothing. He didn't understand how that was possible, to not think about anything. Thoughts kept floating in.  
  
"Ready?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"As ready as I'm getting," Harry said.   
  
Dumbledore said the spell, sending Harry back into his memories. First was his teacher with a wig of blue hair. Then a tap dancing spider from his fourth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class. The memories skipped to a graveyard where Cedric's body lay limp a few feet away from a trophy, Death Eaters yelling and throwing spells. Harry reached out for his body and he was brought back to reality.  
  
He was on all fours, scar aching a little. Dumbledore helped him to his feet. He sat down in one of the chairs and Dumbledore conjured a glass of tea for him.  
  
"I apologize, Harry. I shouldn't have gone so far," he said.  
  
"I'm fine," Harry said.  
  
He slowly drank the tea. He then voiced one of his worries to Dumbledore, "Professor, what if I can't learn this and Voldemort gets the prophecy? I don't know if I can."  
  
"Occlumency is a hard thing to learn. You'll get it soon enough," he said reassuringly, "Now let's have one more go before calling it a day. And remember to clear your mind."  
  
Harry got to his feet and braced himself again as Dumbledore muttered, "Legilimens."   
  
Once again memories reeled. Harry was flying for the first time and it was great. Then he was being chased by the werewolf. It bit him and Voldemort's voice hissed at him. Then it stopped like before. But Harry was standing this time.  
  
"What was that?" Dumbledore asked in an unusual sharp tone.  
  
"Dream," Harry mumbled, looking away from him.  
  
"I think it might be best if you explained this dream," he said in a calmer tone.  
  
"I'd rather n-" he started but at a look from Dumbledore he told exactly what the dream had been and what Voldemort had said. He had even ventured as far as to tell Dumbledore about the dream of last night, having felt better letting someone know. It was like he was transferring the burden.   
  
Dumbledore let Harry talk himself into silence. After a few minutes of Dumbledore only sitting and gazing fixedly into his hands, Harry cleared his throat to get the Headmaster's attention. He looked like he was just waken from a deep sleep.  
  
"Harry, yes. Sorry, I was thinking," he said, "Well, that is all for today."   
  
"But what about the dreams or whatever they are," Harry asked.  
  
"I do not know yet what they are. I ask you to please inform me if you have any more," he said.  
  
Harry nodded and stood, ready for the day to end. He felt tired from his lessons; Add Occlumency to that and he was exhausted. He fell into his bed and curled up into his blankets ready for a peaceful night's sleep that didn't come.   
  
He was thrown from dream to dream. It seemed that he was living out memories of people. First he was standing before a younger Dumbledore.   
  
"You may stay here, of course, Hagrid, as game keeper," Dumbledore said, patting him on the shoulder.  
  
The scene disappeared and he found himself at The Burrow. In the fireplace was the head of Mundungus Fletcher.  
  
"You-know-who is dead!" he shouted excitedly.  
  
Then he was walking toward a pile of rubble that had once been a house. As he neared it, he heard a cry. He dared not believe it, but he saw, wrapped up in neatly in a blanket, was the baby. He picked it up. Not more than ten feet away were the bodies of his best friends.  
  
"Stop!" Harry shouted angrily and his eyes snapped open. He was lying in his four poster in his dormitory.   
  
"That's it, mate," Ron was standing and pulling a robe on, "Sorry, but I'm going to see Dumbledore."  
  
It took Harry a moment to get his voice, "He already knows. Found out during the Occlumency lessons."  
  
"So he knows? What did he say?" Ron asked.  
  
"Nothing really. Just to practice Occlumency more," Harry said.  
  
"But Dumbledore, he has to know what it is," Ron said, "What was it tonight?"  
  
Harry wasn't sure whether he wanted to tell Ron. It would only get him more agitated. He shook his head, "Nothing."  
  
"Oh, come on. You can tell me," Ron said.  
  
"A few memories flashed around. Voldemort's doing, I think," Harry said.  
  
Ron looked like he was going to be sick. He laid back on his bed and shut his eyes, thinking. After a few minutes silence, he asked quietly, "What if we don't win?"  
  
Harry said nothing. He thought of the prophecy and for a fleeting moment, thought of telling Ron. He wanted to tell someone, to let someone know, but he didn't think he wanted to have his friends know. It could put them in danger, too.  
  
Harry looked out the window to see that it was early morning. The sun was just peeking over the mountains in the far distance. Knowing he wasn't about to get any more sleep, he pulled on his school robes and made for the common room with his bag of books. He hadn't done any homework yesterday so he needed to catch up and he wanted something to keep him from thinking of the prophecy and all that came with it. He had done enough thinking of that over the summer.  
  
Harry's first lesson for the day was a double period Care of Magical Creatures. He was glad when he saw that there were only a few Slytherins and no Malfoy. Remus's lesson was really good. He had brought back the hippogriff's from their third year and this time everyone managed to get out uninjured.  
  
After Lunch was Defense Against the Dark Arts with, Harry groaned, the Slytherins. Harry was eager to see what exactly the new teacher was going to be like but not so much as Hermione, who tried to make them leave fifteen minutes early for the lesson. Harry and Ron took their time eating and she left without them. They made it into class just as the bell rang and took their seats. Professor Green was standing in the front of the class.  
  
"Books away. Wands out," she said.  
  
"Oh, this should be a good lesson, then," Ron said. All of the class was whispering excitedly.  
  
"You are not to speak in this class unless you are spoken to," she said sharply causing everyone to stop talking abruptly, "My class is really simple. You do what are you are told and nothing more or less. Screw around and you'll have to deal with a vengeful me. And believe me, you do not want to piss me off."  
  
All of the class gaped at her. No Hogwarts teacher had spoken to them like that, not even Snape. Harry was right in thinking you'd be crazy to cross her. He quickly threw the book back inside his bag and slipped his wand out of his sleeve.   
  
"You all have been warned, so I will take no excuses. We'll be doing shield charms for the first quarter and then we'll move on to throwing off certain spells. In the second half of the year, you will learn attacking spells. Now everyone get into pairs. We will start," she said.  
  
They were quick to pick their partners. Harry was with Ron and Hermione with Aira.   
  
"Now everyone copy this wand movement," Professor Green said. She took the wand and made an 'X' type movement in the air. The rest of the class followed suit.  
  
"Use only your wrist, Mr. Nott, not your whole arm. Not so wide, Mrs. Parkinson," she corrected, "Now you all should know the simple shielding spell, Protego. That will block only minor attacks such as a babbling hex or tickling charm. This should deflect more advanced spells, such as stunning spells. Repeat these words. Validus Cortege. One person from each pair will throw a simple spell at the other, who is to try this spell to block it. You may speak if it is necessary and pertains to this lesson. Begin."  
  
Harry smiled happily. Everyone from the DA had mastered this spell the previous year under his instruction. Each and every member was able to perform the spell on the first, including Neville. And only a few of the Slytherin lot had the spell learnt by the end of the class. Professor Green gave the first smile they had seen from her.  
  
"That would make a total of forty-five points to Gryffindor and fifteen for Slytherin. Five for each who used the spell effectively," she said, "We will continue working on this spell next lesson. Those who could not perform the spell have homework. Eighteen inches on the proper use of Validus Cortege. Due next week."  
  
Harry felt rather proud as the DA members sent nods and smiles his way. He saw Malfoy scowling at Professor Green. Harry pulled out some parchment and scribbled 'Look at Malfoy's face. If you want to call it that. Looks more like his neck threw up.' He folded it and passed it to Ron, smirking.  
  
"Mr. Potter, stay after," Professor Green said shortly.  
  
How did she know about the note? She couldn't have seen it, he thought. The Gryffindors sat in the back of class and Professor Green allowed them to have whispered conversations. Ron and Hermione were having a quiet argument. Harry ignored them.   
  
"Harry, you're family is muggles and wizards, right?" Seamus asked.  
  
"Yeah. My mum is muggleborn," Harry said absently.  
  
"Seems like there are no purebloods anymore. Slytherin house population is rather small compared to the others. i think sixth year has the most with seven," Dean said.  
  
"Anyone besides you in your family magic?" Seamus asked Dean.  
  
"My sister could be. She's still too little to know yet. My mom and step-dad are muggles. And I don't know about my real dad's family. He left when I was small," Dean said.  
  
The bell rang and remembering he was to stay after class, Harry went up to Professor Green's desk.  
  
"Sorry about writing that note about Malfoy, Professor. It won't happen again," he apologized, wanting to get out quickly and not be late for his next class.  
  
She looked up at him bemused, "This isn't about any note. As a matter of fact, I hadn't even known about it. Your honesty is quite a good thing, though. So I'll make it one night's detention, instead of a week's. I do not put up with anything in class."  
  
Harry knew better than to argue. He felt like an idiot for saying anything. He should have waited until she said what it was about.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about your club," her usual sharp tone was gone, "Professor Dumbledore told me you may need help, though with what I saw from today, I think you might have it under control."  
  
"I guess we could use the help," Harry said.  
  
"I won't be able to come to every meeting. What days and times are they?" she asked.  
  
"I didn't set it up, yet," Harry said, "Last year we just did it on random evenings. But that was so people didn't get suspicious. And it can't interfere with Quidditch."  
  
"Pick two nights a week. Professor McGonagall sets up practice dates with the captains on Saturday. Be sure Quidditch isn't on those days," she said, "I suggest one of them be on Sunday so the students aren't tired from classes."  
  
"How about eight on every Sunday and Wednesday?" Harry suggested.  
  
"Okay then. That sounds fine, Harry. I'll try to make it to all but can't promise anything. I think you ought to have a bit of a plan for this year, now that it's allowed," she said.  
  
Harry nodded and as he was about to leave, she said, that brisk tone back, "Your detention, Mr. Potter. Thursday evening. Six. You can help Filch polish the suits of armor. No magic."  
  
Harry's face fell. No magic. All of the suits of armor. That would take forever. He didn't think he liked Professor Green that much and was glad she wouldn't be at every meeting. He slung his bag over his back and went to his next class, arriving late. Luckily, Professor Flitwick only took five points from Gryffindor and Harry's detentions didn't double.   
  
After class ended, Harry sped down the corridor to the Transfiguration class to meet Whitley and walk her to dinner as he almost always did. She laughed when he arrived out of breath.  
  
"You don't really have to do that, you know," she said.  
  
"I know, but I want to," he said, "I really like you." 


	6. Dobby's Information

Chapter Six - Dobby's Information  
  
Friday evening was the meeting of Quidditch captains. They would all decide the match dates and practice times. Harry didn't know of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin captains, but he knew the captain of the Ravenclaw team. Very well, actually. His face fell when he saw Cho Chang standing with the Captain badge pinned to her chest and an annoying smile on her face.  
  
"Good evening, Harry," she said in a stiff manner.  
  
"Evening, Cho," he replied politely, feeling a bit awkward.  
  
"I'm surprised you don't have a torrent of girls flanking you," she said in an airy tone.  
  
What he was about to reply with wasn't nice, but just as he opened his mouth, Professor McGonagall arrived, fortunately stopping his offensive outburst before it began.  
  
"Everyone take a seat," she gestured to a small table, "We'll begin."  
  
Harry made sure to sit as far from Cho as possible, though it meant sitting next to the Slytherin. Professor McGonagall discussed the dates with the captains and, Harry was pleased, she put Slytherins practice for Wednesday night, during the DA meeting, though she had to give into letting Slytherins have Saturdays instead of Sunday. This meant the Hufflepuff Quidditch team members, who were scheduled for practice Sunday evenings, would miss out on half of Sunday's meeting. Gryffindor would have tryouts on the next Saturday afternoon morning.  
  
As soon as the meeting came to an end, Harry hurried out so that he wouldn't be stopped by Cho, who was trying to catch his eye. Probably wants to go on about me or start crying again, he thought as he made his way up the marble staircase to the common room.  
  
Fall was coming in with cold winds and harsh rain. Harry was beginning to feel anxious, as if something should have happened by now. There were a few odd deaths in the Daily Prophet but nothing else. It was as if Voldemort was trying to catch them off guard and Harry wasn't going to let it happen. Harry and Ron sat in the back of their Charms class drawing pictures one afternoon. Hermione had taught them a neat little charm to make the drawings move around. They found that their efforts to learn the spell were very much well worth it. It kept them entertained for many of their lessons.   
  
Ron's knomes were trying to behead Harry's manticore. Harry quickly drew in four or five bludgers in hope of getting them to back off. Ron added a dragon and all hope was lost for the manticore. Hermione glared at them while she steadily took notes. Harry scribbled down a few dates every once in awhile but Professor Flitwick's class was too boring. He set them to taking notes while he talked endlessly.  
  
Harry was begging for the bell to ring soon, signaling lunch. There was only five minutes left but they droned on slowly. As soon as class ended Harry shoved his books into his bag roughly, taking off with the rest of the Gryffindors down to the Great Hall.   
  
"Just a bit immature, running down to lunch," Hermione said as she sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later.  
  
"Nah when youh hunree as us," Ron said through a mouthful of chicken.   
  
Hermione shook her head with a look of disgust and muttered, "Honestly, when are you going to stop acting like such a wart."  
  
"When are going to stop acting like my mother?" he snapped back. Harry covered his laugh at the too true comment.  
  
Hermione opened her mouth to retort but luckily Fred, George, and a seventh year friend of theirs, Dallas, arrived in time to stop the argument that was about to ensue.   
  
"Transfiguration was hell today," Fred complained.  
  
"Yeah, McGonagall is in a mood for some reason," George said.  
  
"Oh no. We have her next," Harry moaned.  
  
"She seemed to be in a good mood when I saw her this morning," Hermione said, beginning her History homework.  
  
"That's because she didn't have us in class yet," George laughed.  
  
"We bewitched the chalk to start writing on it's own," Dallas said, "Class was becoming a tad bit too uneventful."  
  
Fred and George smiled slyly, "Don't know how she knew it was us."  
  
"As if it ever isn't you," Ron said laughing.  
  
"But, of course, that wasn't enough for them," Dallas said.  
  
"We needed some revenge for the twenty points she took from Gryffindor," George said.  
  
"So we accidentally," Fred winked, "Transfigured her instead of our goblets."  
  
Hermione looked up from the essay she was working on and shot the both of them reproving looks.  
  
"Didn't go quite right. She ended up with two long ears and a fluffy rabbits tail," the seventh year said.  
  
"She gave us two weeks detention and took another thirty points from Gryffindor," George said.  
  
Harry looked over to where the house points were recorded. Gryffindor was getting pretty low.   
  
"Some greasy Slytherin saw us and told her. We tried to make it seem like an accident but the slimy rat told her we were both aiming right at her with our goblets set aside," George said.  
  
"She looked ready to spit fire. Had the whole class in fits of laughter. Yelling with her ears flopping around. Ah, yes, it was well worth it," Fred said, still smiling.  
  
Harry couldn't help but laugh as he pictured McGonagall the half rabbit shouting. Ron's eyes were tearing, he was laughing so hard. Hermione pursed her lips and kept at her homework.  
  
"Dunno if it anything is worth five nights of detention with a livid McGonagall," Dallas said grimly.  
  
Harry saw Malfoy over at Slytherin table pointing over his back towards him and whispering to his friends. They all started laughing. Harry ignored them but Ron had saw them, too.  
  
"I would give anything to hex that slimy little git," he mumbled under his breath threateningly.  
  
Harry made his way out of the great hall towards Transfiguration class a bit early today with Ron, Aira, and Hermione, Neville tagging along. As they neared their class, Harry heard the familiar drawl that was Draco Malfoy's voice.  
  
"Potter, I can't believe you still hang around these Mudbloods and muggle-lovers," he sneered. He seemed to always know the right thing to say to get under Harry's skin.   
  
"Go to hell, Malfoy," he spat.  
  
Ron had his wand drawn already; he was just waiting for an excuse to hex Malfoy.   
  
"Weasley, I would love to have a go at you, but am not feeling challenged enough. Perhaps a more difficult opponent would be better. I hear Hagrid still has some flobberworms left-"  
  
Before Malfoy could say any more, Ron sent a bright red spell at him, nearly missing; it hit the edge of sleeve and Harry saw his arm begin to bulge. Crabbe threw some purple hex towards Ron that made his nose begin to swell at a fast rate. Harry retaliated with a Knee reversing hex as both Crabbe and Malfoy had their wands raised at Ron. Crabbe fell to the stone floor, as Neville surprisingly joined in, throwing a weak yellow jet towards him also.   
  
Goyle was trying to hit Harry with a curse or two but his aim was terrible. Harry would have been more nervous if he was aiming at someone else. He was still thankful when Ron threw some spell at him. Malfoy's red sparks hit Harry and his nose began to bleed. Ron and Neville became involved in a furious tumble with Goyle just as Harry got to his feet. Harry was about to give a good hex to Malfoy when he was drug back a few feet by his collar.  
  
"What is going on?" Professor McGonagall looked outraged, as angry as Harry had ever seen her. No one answered her. She had Ron and Neville by their arms.  
  
Harry turned to see who had him by his neck and his heart dropped into his stomach to see Snape's face. He had Malfoy by the shoulder in his other hand. Goyle lay on the floor unconscious.   
  
Harry was glad to see Crabbe sitting on the floor nursing what looked to be a broken nose. Students were whispering to each other. Harry had been oblivious to the crowd of students that gathered in the corridor until now.   
  
"My office. Go. Now," McGonagall said angrily.  
  
She let go of Ron and Neville and conjured up a stretcher for Goyle and she performed the counter-curse for the Jelly Legs Jinx on Crabbe so he could walk once again. Snape didn't relax his grip on Harry the whole way, though he let go of Malfoy completely.  
  
"You won't get away with it this time, Potter," he hissed quietly so no one but Harry could hear, "Just as arrogant as ever."  
  
Harry didn't respond. That was what Snape wanted him to do. And no doubt he had already lost enough points for Gryffindor this evening. Snape reluctantly freed Harry of his grip when they entered McGonagall's office.  
  
"Goyle will need to go to the Hospital Wing. I can take it from here, Severus," she said, leading Harry to a vacant chair beside Ron and Neville.  
  
Snape left, looking angry at missing the chance to reprimand Harry. He obviously couldn't think of a good reason to stay instead of take Goyle to the Hospital Wing because he left.  
  
Malfoy strode across the room to sit with Crabbe. Harry wiped away the blood running down his face with his robes. He felt lucky to have not been hit with any of the worse spells. Neville also seemed to be lucky, as he looked relatively fine except for a few bruises. Ron's nose was now bigger than the rest of his face and Malfoy's sleeve was rolled up to reveal nasty yellow boils. Ron's spell seemed to have the same effect as bubotuber puss.  
  
The Slytherins were the worst of the lot, Harry, Ron, and Neville were glad to see.  
  
"I have half a mind to leave it," she muttered as she restored Ron's nose back to it's proper size and magicked bandages onto Malfoy's arm "Mr. Malfoy, you can go to the hospital wing after to fix out your arm better."  
  
She sent angry glares down at all of them.  
  
"Fifty points from both houses and detention to all of you!" she said. Then she turned to Ron with eyes narrowed, "Step out of line again, Mr. Weasley and that Prefect badge of yours will be removed. And that goes for you too," she said, rounding on Malfoy.  
  
"Weasley started it, Professor," Malfoy whined.  
  
"I don't care who started it! All I know is I walked out of my office to see six sixth years battling in front of my classroom! Two of them prefects!" she shouted angrily.  
  
The bell rang signaling the start of class. As she opened the door for them to leave, she added, "I will be writing to your parents to ensure this does not happen again."  
  
Malfoy only sneered and went on towards the hospital wing. Ron's look of fury did turn to one of dismay. Harry didn't really care if she wrote to the Dursley's as they wouldn't care much if he did get himself into trouble. It must have shown on his face because she swiftly added to him, "I will not be writing to your Aunt and Uncle, as you may have thought, but to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, seeing as they are more a family to you."  
  
Now Harry definitely regretted rising to Malfoy's provocation. Now he understood why Ron always dreaded having his parents written. It never really did matter to Harry before. The Dursleys never cared about him.   
  
Harry only half paid attention during class, instead thinking of what Mrs. Weasley would say. He already knew from his experiences with the Weasleys that Mr. Weasley wasn't the one to be worried about. He had actually already had a fight with Malfoy Senior a few years earlier. Ron looked to also be thinking the same things. As a result, he and Harry missed a few key points to the lesson and ended up with furry spoons instead of mice, receiving bottom marks.  
  
Hermione looked as though she were holding her tongue. She was. At least until they left the class.  
  
"You really shouldn't have hexed him, Ron. He was trying to get you into trouble. And then you had to join in Harry," she said.  
  
"I wasn't going to let him take on Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle alone!" Harry snapped.  
  
"And I wasn't going to let him get away with talking about us like that. Besides, we aren't the only ones that got into trouble. They did, too," Ron grumbled.  
  
"Like they really care about that," she said, turning to the portrait of the fat lady and giving the password.  
  
Hermione was right, though Harry and Ron would never give her the pleasure of knowing it. Snape would make sure that his house got their points back and he would probably take the three Slytherin's detentions. And as for writing home, their parents would be pleased that they had been fighting with a Weasley, a Potter, and a Longbottom.  
  
At dinner, Fred and George sat with them, wanting to here all about their rumble with the Slytherins. Ron and Harry told them about it in detail, figuring they should at least get some enjoyment out of the whole thing. After all, they weren't the ones that ended up in the hospital wing. And they were glad to see that Goyle still didn't return from the hospital wing.  
  
With Fred and George entertaining them throughout dinner, Harry and Ron had managed to forget that McGonagall was writing to the Weasleys until they received their detention notices as they were leaving. Harry, Ron, and Neville were to be cleaning the Owlery without the use of magic the next evening. It seemed to be a popular punishment, the whole wandless cleaning thing.  
  
"Don't even tell us we deserve it," Ron snapped at Hermione as she opened her mouth.   
  
"I wasn't going to, Ron!" she said, "I was going to say look over at Malfoy. He doesn't look very pleased with his detention, either."  
  
Harry wheeled around and saw that Hermione was right. He was arguing with Snape only a few feet away. Harry caught a bit of what was said.  
  
"But Professor-"   
  
"Professor McGonagall arranged it. Not I. You'll live through it," Snape stated.  
  
A skinny Slytherin boy behind Malfoy said jeeringly, "Yeah, Malfoy. There aren't that many trophies. You'll be done in a few hours." Malfoy glared viciously at the boy, who's smile faded quickly as he saw Crabbe approaching, flexing his arms.  
  
Harry's worries about the letter to Mrs. Weasley were wiped away until later that night. It was the first meeting of the DA and he wanted to be focused. He had decided that the first meeting should be a review from last year so he set up a bit of an outline of the things he wanted to go over with them all.   
  
Whitley was eager to join the DA, but she could only come to Saturday meetings, as Slytherin had Quidditch practice on Wednesday evenings. She was the only Slytherin to join the DA and many thought her untrustworthy. Harry decided it was best if the DA included only its original members since they would be loyal but he did make two exceptions. One being Whitley and the other being Aira. No one complained except Zacharias Smith, but he shut-up quick when Ron threatened to pin his ears to his ass, with Fred and George nodding grimly behind him.  
  
Harry pocketed the outline and clambered out of the portrait hole. He was going to the Room of Requirement early to make sure everything was in order. When he arrived, he was mildly surprised to see Dobby sitting on a cushion with his usual amount of ten hats, mismatched socks, and the Weasley sweater.  
  
"Hello, Harry Potter, sir!" he squeaked.  
  
"Hello, Dobby," Harry said, "How are you?"  
  
"Dobby is fine, sir. Dobby is wanting to warn Harry Potter, sir," Dobby looked at him with wide eyes.  
  
"Again?" Harry asked, "I want you to out and say it, this time, Dobby."  
  
"There is a boy in the dungeons and Dobby sees bad thing. He sees a very bad thing, sir," Dobby shook his head as if trying to rid himself of what he saw, "The boy had the bad thing on his arm."  
  
"The bad thing?" Harry asked, "What's that?"  
  
"Like Professors Snape and Grubblyplank had. On their arms, Harry Potter, sir. They had the snake mark," Dobby said gravely.  
  
"The Dark Mark?" Harry asked and Dobby nodded.  
  
"Wait a minute," Harry said, "Professor Grubblyplank was a Death Eater?"  
  
"No, Harry Potter, sir. She not was a Death Eater. She is a Death Eater, sir," Dobby whispered.  
  
Harry was in shock. He had always thought Professor Grubblyplank was a good person and would have never taken her to be a Death Eater. He looked down at Dobby and asked, "Are you sure?"  
  
"Oh yes. I sees it on her arm when she comes to school in summer for job. I tells Professor Dumbledore, sir. And she tells him that she is. Now she is gone away," Dobby squeaked.  
  
Harry let all of this new information settle over him. He still could not believe Grubblyplank was a Death Eater, but what Dobby said made sense. That was why Dumbledore had hired Lupin and not Grubblyplank. Then he remembered why Dobby was here and asked quickly, "What about that boy? He had a mark? Who was he?"   
  
"Dobby does not know. He had a hood on. Dobby tries to tell Professor Dumbledore, sir, but he cannot be found. So Dobby tells Harry Potter, sir, instead," Dobby said.  
  
"You didn't see-" Harry was interrupted when Professor Green entered the room.  
  
"Evening, Harry," she said.  
  
"Evening, Professor," he said. When he turned back, he saw that Dobby was gone.  
  
Once everyone arrived, Harry began. Professor Green stood off to the side watching him. This made him feel anxious. He was happy to see that Cho and her friend, Marietta did not show up.  
  
"We'll start now that everyone is here," Harry said loudly, causing the talking to come to a stop, "Today we'll review from last year. To make sure no one is behind."  
  
"We're not going to do anything new? This is a waste," Zacharias Smith exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not forcing you to stay. You can leave at any time as I have reminded you many times previously," Harry said coolly.  
  
"It seems pointless to keep-" Zacharias was interrupted by George, who smacked him around the back of the head.  
  
"Don't you know when to shut up, Smith?" he said exasperatedly.  
  
"If you cannot do it on your own. George and me will be glad to help," Fred offered.  
  
Zacharias glared at the two, but kept his mouth closed. Harry glanced at Professor Green. He was surprised to see her ignoring the situation completely. If it was in her class, she would have handed weeks of detention for students threatening each other.  
  
"Okay, now as I was saying. We're going to review, today. Everyone into pairs. We'll warm up by trying Expelliarmus. Once you've successfully done that, move on to the next on the list I give you. I'll come around and help you with anything you need help with," Harry said.   
  
He took a paper that had a list of Spells, Curses, Charms, Hexes, and jinxes of all sorts and handed it to Hermione as the group chose partners. She performed the spell to duplicate the paper and Harry handed one to everyone.  
  
"What can I do, Harry?" Professor Green asked brightly.  
  
"Er- You can walk around and help them. You know, make sure they're doing it right," Harry said. He felt awkward giving one of his teachers instructions.  
  
He walked over to Neville who was practicing with Aira. Neville had completed the Expelliarmus spell perfectly.  
  
"That's great, Neville. Really good," Harry commended.  
  
"Thanks, Harry! I got an 'E' on the Defense O.W.L. thanks to you," Neville said happily.  
  
After watching Aira have a go at Neville with the spell, Harry moved on. The class was going through the list very quickly. Harry had to correct very few people during the whole meeting and he handed out many compliments. In an undertone, he told Hermione and Ron about what Dobby said as he watched them do the spells.   
  
"So the Slytherins are taking the Dark Mark now?" Ron asked.  
  
"Not Slytherins. It could be a student from any house," Hermione said.  
  
"Most likely, though, it's a Slytherin," Ron said.  
  
"Probably. They were in the dungeons. Slytherin common room is down there. But let's not rule out anyone else," Harry said.  
  
"More Polyjuice potion?" Ron grimaced.  
  
"No," Harry said quickly, "What are we going to do if we do find out anyway?"  
  
"Harry's right. We better stay out of it this time. Dumbledore will probably know anyway," Hermione said  
  
Harry got back to the meeting, checking over other's progress. Twenty minutes into the meeting, Terry Boot accidentally missed his partner with Stupefy and hit Zacharias, who retaliated with a Jelly Legs Jinx. There was almost a full out duel between the two, until Harry used the Full Body Bind on both of them, stopping the fight.   
  
"Don't dare try that in here again! I won't have fighting between members in this club!" Harry was surprised to hear himself shout. He performed the counter curse and the both got to their feet gingerly, shooting daggers at each other. Harry went back to checking how the others were doing.  
  
"Nice work there, Harry," Professor Green whispered.  
  
"Why didn't you do anything? You're a teacher," Harry asked curiously.  
  
"I am a teacher when I am in a classroom, an auror when fighting Dark wizards, and right now I am Annissa Green, assisting you with a school club," she said.  
  
Harry looked at her curiously and moved on to the next pair of practicing students and helping them. He walked from person to person, complimenting and admiring their work. Nearly everyone had finished his list. When the meeting ended, Harry felt very happy. He was proud of the members, who had done excellently.  
  
"That was terrific, Harry. You would make a very good teacher," Professor Green said.  
  
"Thanks, Professor," Harry said.  
  
"Annissa, if you would. I believe I told you I am your teacher only when we are in class," she smiled, "Harry, if you don't mind, I'd like to make a suggestion for the meetings."  
  
"I don't mind," Harry said.  
  
"Well, I think Professor Dumbledore agrees that defending yourself is very important. So I suggest letting these meetings last longer. I could speak with Dumbledore and see if he will extend the curfew of DA members to ten on Sunday and Wednesdays," she said.  
  
"That would be great!" Harry said eagerly.  
  
"I'll go speak with the Headmaster in the morning, Harry," she said, "Goodnight."  
  
"Night, Prof -er- Annissa," it felt odd to call a teacher by their first name.  
  
Harry made his way to the common room with Aira. Ron and Hermione had already left but Aira stayed behind to walk with him. It seemed she was always trying to be with him. Once in the common room, he told Ron and Hermione about the extended meetings and they were just as excited.  
  
"That's really good. We can get more practice in!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, that will be cool," Ron said. He groaned as he pulled a book towards him, "This homework is really starting to pile up."  
  
"You only have two classes that actually give out homework," Hermione said, "How do you have so much?"  
  
"I kind of put it all off till late," he muttered.  
  
Harry frowned, realizing he had his own homework to catch up on. He pulled Snape's essay to him and began work on it. He scribbled 'The Seventeen Uses of Occamy Blood'. Then he opened his Potions book and flipped through pages until Hermione gave him the page to find it on. He had only been at it for a few minutes when there was a clicking from the window.   
  
Errol was tapping her beak against it. Hermione crossed and let the old owl in. Before collapsing on a chair, it dropped a scarlet envelope on the table. On the front read:   
  
Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter   
  
Gryffindor House,   
  
Hogwarts.  
  
Harry and Ron exchanged looks of dread as the steam seeped through the seal on the envelope. Ron took it in his hands and began to nervously open it. 


	7. Quidditch Tryouts

Chapter Seven - Quidditch Tryouts  
  
"HOW DARE YOU! FIGHTING WITH OTHER STUDENTS LIKE THAT! THE BOTH OF YOU SHOULD BE EXPELLED!" came the voice of Mrs. Weasley echoing through the common room. Harry was sure it would wake up all of Gryffindor house, if not the whole school. The few people in the common turned and stared, some snickering. The letter continued, "YOU ARE A PREFECT RONALD WEASLEY! YOU SHOULD BE SETTING AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER STUDENTS! AND YOU TOO, HARRY! I AM ASHAMED OF THE PAIR OF YOU! AND I AM WARNING YOU NOW THAT IF I EVER HEAR YOU BEHAVED IN THIS WAY AGAIN I WILL PERSONALLY COME TO HOGWARTS AND MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN."  
  
Harry sat with his head in his hands, a feeling of guilt and regret sweeping over him. Mrs. Weasley had never yelled directly at him; she always aimed it at the group of them, but this time he supposed he had pushed it a bit too far, making him feel even more guilty. When he lifted his head, he saw Hermione looking at them with that 'You deserved it' look. He threw aside his books, unable to do any work.  
  
"I'm going to bed," he mumbled before climbing the dormitory stairs. Ron, now in a sullen mood and apparently deciding it was time to go to bed too, followed silently behind.   
  
Harry fell back into his bed, not bothering to change. It was a while before he fell asleep, the sound of Mrs. Weasley's magnified voice still echoing through his head.  
  
Harry and Ron were especially careful to not cause trouble in any way since the arrival of the howler. Ron had even taken to doing his homework when it was assigned and Harry was able to contain himself during Potions when Malfoy was sending snide comments his way.   
  
Soon Saturday was upon them and Quidditch tryouts were being held for the Gryffindor team. Harry had hung a notice in the common room, telling everyone who wished to join the team the time and date of tryouts and open positions. They needed two chasers and Harry wanted some reserves, too, for next year or just in case one of the team players were banned or injured (which was not all that uncommon when you attended Hogwarts). From what he heard of the students talking with each other, he expected a rather large outcome and that he got.  
  
As he crossed the grounds to the pitch with Ron and the rest of the Gryffindor team, he saw no less than a dozen students standing with brooms and talking animatedly. Harry hadn't thought of what he was going to do for tryouts. Ron must have noticed that Harry didn't know what to do because he took charge.  
  
"Hey, you lot! Get into groups according to what position you want! Chasers. Beaters. Keeper. And Seeker," he pointed to a different spot for each position.  
  
As they all took their spots, Harry asked Ron in a whisper, "Now what should we do with them?"  
  
"We'll have each of them take a turn and take notes. See who's best," Ron said.  
  
Harry turned to the awaiting group. There were six trying for Chaser: Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Colin Creevey, some first year that Harry didn't know, and Aira. Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke were the only two trying for reserve beaters. Dennis Creevey was hopping around excitedly in the seeker group with Euan Abercrombie. Two of the three trying for Keeper were people Harry had heard Angelina talk about trying for the team the year before, Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper. The other was third year, Natalie McDonald. Harry turned back to the team.  
  
"Sloper and Kirke are automatics. They're the only two that showed up for beater. Angelina said Hooper is a whiner and Quidditch is at the bottom of Frobisher's list," Harry whispered.  
  
"We better have them try, though. So they don't get mad," Ginny said.  
  
"Let's try chaser's first. I'll keep and the rest of you take notes on how they do. Then we'll see the rest after. Chasers are most important right now," Ron said.  
  
Harry nodded as Ron took off on his broom for the goalposts. He said loudly to the group, "We're going to try Chasers first. One at a time. The rest of you can sit and wait. Parvati, you first. Ron is going to be keeping."  
  
Harry zoomed into the air and hovered above them watching. Since Ron's confidence was boosted with the last match of the previous year, he was a much better keeper. He decided on ten to fifteen minutes to each player to try.   
  
"Okay. We'll have the results posted up in the common room tomorrow morning," Harry announced when all of the chasers had tried. It turned out to be not too bad. He thought Gryffindor's team would be really good this year. At least, no worse than any other year.  
  
"Now we'll try the keepers and seekers. Harry'll let the snitch out a few times for you while me and Gin will try scoring on each keeper," Ron said.  
  
"Sloper, Kirke, you two are going to practice with a Bludger. Keep it away from the players. Now that Fred and George are back, you two will be our reserve beaters," Harry said.  
  
Both of them looked very pleased and were very enthusiastic when playing as a result. Fred and George returned and helped with the keepers. Harry was busy with the trying seekers. He stopped every few minutes to see how the keepers were doing and he thought he liked Natalie McDonald best.  
  
Harry was surprised a bit when he saw that Dennis Creevey was a really good flyer. He had the right build for a seeker, too, and he caught the snitch in fairly good time. Euan really hadn't a chance against him. After the third catch of the snitch, Harry called tryouts to a halt. It was late into the night by this time and all were becoming drained.  
  
"That's all, then. We'll have the results in the common room, tomorrow," Harry announced.  
  
They all made their way back up to the common room exhaustedly. Harry and Ron sat at a table, comparing notes on each player. They had been at it for only a few minutes when Euan Abercrombie sidled over.  
  
"Look, I'm really much better than that. I swear. I was just nervous," he explained.  
  
Then the first year chaser came over and began sucking up. Ron shook his head.  
  
"Let's go up to our dormitory, Harry," he suggested. Harry followed him up the stairs but soon left there too as Dean and Seamus began bugging them.   
  
"Go ahead up in our dormitory," Fred said.  
  
"Yeah, we have our own as we are the only eighth years," George smiled.  
  
"Thanks," Harry said, making his way up the stairs and having to shake off Dennis and Colin Creevey along the way.  
  
They spent a long while talking over the players. It was an easy choice for reserves but chasers were a bit more difficult to decide.   
  
"Aira is a definite. She's really good," Harry said.  
  
"Yeah, I liked her for the team," Ron said, "That first year, Graham Leonard, was good, too."  
  
"Too small, yet. He wouldn't be very good against Slytherin or even Ravenclaw. They'd flatten him," Harry said.  
  
"Guess so," Ron agreed, "Am I right in saying Seamus is out?"  
  
"Oh yeah. And Parvati," Harry said. Seamus could barely keep on his broom and his Quaffle handling was almost as terrible as Pavarti's, though at least she could stay on her broom.  
  
"So it's between Dean and Colin," Ron said, "Colin has aim but no speed and Dean has speed and no aim. This is going to be a tough one."  
  
"I think aim is important to have," Harry said.  
  
"Yes but you need to go fast or they'll take the Quaffle right from you. And Colin is a bit obnoxious," Ron said.  
  
"No good having a player who can't score, though," Harry said.  
  
"Harry, you can teach someone better aim, but speed isn't something you can learn," Ron pointed out, "Besides Colin is too small."  
  
"That's a good point. Why don't we keep him on as reserve along with that first year," Harry suggested.  
  
"Okay then we have Ginny, Aira, and Dean as chasers, Dennis is reserve seeker, and Natalie as reserve keeper. Those other two that tried for keeper annoyed the hell out of me," Ron said.  
  
"And Sloper and Kirke are reserve beaters," Harry said.  
  
Ron took a piece of parchment and wrote down who made it on the team. Harry looked over and smirked.  
  
"So do we put it up tonight or make them all wait until morning?" he asked.  
  
"That's cruel," Ron said, smirking, "Let's do it.'  
  
"I don't know if that's a good idea. They're all crowded on the stairs, waiting," Fred and George entered the room, "They may attack."  
  
Harry put the paper in his pocket and made his way down the stairs with the group of them following and asking questions. He pinned the paper to the notice board and hurried away from it as they crowded towards it.  
  
"I made it!" Graham, the first year shouted.  
  
"Me too!" Dennis exclaimed..  
  
Harry saw Parvati and Vicky glaring at him and he hurried up to his dormitory, not wanting to deal with them. Ron followed quickly as their gaze fell upon him. Harry was pulling on his pajamas when Seamus entered, looking livid. Ron threw a glance at him.  
  
"Er-- Sorry you didn't make it, Seamus," Harry said.  
  
"I never should have expected to," he said through gritted teeth, "I thought we made up about that fight last year, Harry. But apparently you like to hold things against people."  
  
"That isn't true!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"Whatever you say," Seamus muttered.  
  
"Come on, Seamus. You know you weren't good," Ron said.  
  
"Whatever," he muttered, pulling his hangings shut.   
  
"Doesn't matter. He'll get over it. He won't be the only one to be mad at me, I can guarantee," Harry said in an undertone to Ron.  
  
Harry was thankful the next morning that Voldemort had not interrupted his dreams, once again. He hadn't done so since his second day back and Harry was glad. He had enough to worry about at the moment with classes and Quidditch.  
  
He pulled on his robes and made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, running into Whitley on the way and smiling at the sight of her. He accompanied her down to the Great Hall. And when she was about to sit at the Slytherin table, he held her back.  
  
"Er- do you want to come sit with me for breakfast, today?" he asked.  
  
She cast a nervous glance at the Gryffindors at the table and then an even more nervous glance to the Slytherin table.  
  
"I promise they won't bite," Harry said.  
  
"I don't mind the Gryffindors," she said, "It's my brother and his friends. They won't like it much if I sit there. Actually, come to think of it that way, all the more reason to."  
  
"Don't I have a little to do with it?" he joked.  
  
"No, not really," she replied grinning.  
  
She sat beside Harry at the table and he felt very happy. Hermione arrived and sat across from them.  
  
"Morning, Harry. Whitley," she said happily. Harry waited for a reaction from Whitley like Cho's. He thought maybe all girls acted like she did and was glad when she only smiled and said hello back.  
  
"So, what are you planning for the DA tonight?" Hermione asked, "I saw you pouring over those books a few nights ago."  
  
"I thought we could learn some of this stuff," he pulled out a piece of parchment from his robes, "You probably know some of it. Only basic healing."  
  
"Oh, Harry! This will be really good! But it's really advanced. I don't think many will be able to," Hermione said.  
  
"I've been practicing at it the past few days. It would be good to learn to do it, in case anyone ever gets hurt," Harry said.  
  
"This is going to take months of practice," Whitley said, "I'm definitely up to it."  
  
"Hey, Harry. First Hogsmeade trip is in a few weeks. Weekend of Halloween," Ron said, approaching the table, "Oh, Whitley, hi."  
  
"Hi," she said.  
  
"So first Hogsmeade trip is for Halloween weekend," she said looking toward Harry.  
  
"Yes, I think I'm going to ask Millicent Bullstrode to come with me," he said, mocking a dreamy-love look. Whitley nudged him in the ribs playfully. He grinned and asked, "Would you like to go with me?"  
  
"Only if Vincent Crabbe turns me down," she said, joking back at him. Harry laughed. He liked being able to joke around with Whitley like she was a friend, yet have more with her than just that.  
  
Harry spent the rest of the day in the library pouring over books and trying to catch up with homework. By the time dinner came, he was nearly finished. He looked longingly out the window. They wouldn't have many more nice days and he would have liked to have been outside enjoying it. He swore to himself that from then on he would do it on time, although a small voice in the back of his head laughed at that.  
  
The DA meeting was a great success and Harry was surprised at how well they were doing with the basic healing Charms. Hermione was by far the best of everyone; she helped Harry teach a great deal. Professor Green wasn't there; she had only told Harry she was going on Order business and she wouldn't make it to the meeting. Whitley was able to come this one, and half of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came in late. With every DA meeting, they all improved. Harry was thoroughly happy with everyone's progress.   
  
As September was coming to a close, bad news was increasing. Harry had noticed in the Daily Prophet, that the number of Death Eater sightings, small attacks, and mysterious deaths were becoming larger and larger with every issue. He dreaded looking at the paper every morning.  
  
Once, a small gray owl, carrying a black envelope soared in through a window during dinner. All of the students watched it with looks of horror etched into their faces. It landed in front of a second year Gryffindor, seated a few seats away from Harry. Before even opening the letter, the small girl burst into tears. Professor McGonagall was making her way from the staff table as the girl opened the letter with trembling hands. Upon opening the letter, her cries became hysterical. Professor McGonagall put a comforting arm around her.  
  
"I'm sorry Emmeline, dear," she said softly and led her from the staring students in the Great Hall.  
  
"What was that?" Dean Thomas asked, looking puzzled.  
  
Harry didn't know either, though he had his suspicions. He listened anyway.  
  
"It's a death letter," Neville said quietly.  
  
"When someone is killed in an attack by a dark wizard, they are sent out to the family members," Ron said.  
  
Hogwarts atmosphere was beginning to get a bit depressing. Dumbledore had made his Occlumency lessons longer and more difficult. And Harry was surprisingly doing well with them. Students were always talking about the new reports in the Daily Prophet and DA members were taking the meetings very seriously. They wanted to learn as much as they could before they had to face whatever was out there.   
  
After one of the meetings, Harry walked Whitley down to her common room in the dungeons, managing to shake Aira off. She had taken to following him everywhere. As Harry and Whitley walked down, they talked about the meeting and Harry told her that they would be working on healing until Christmas and then he was going to start working on advanced curses. She seemed very interested and wanted to be at the next meeting badly.  
  
"You can come for the end of it, now it's extended till ten, if you aren't too tired," Harry said.  
  
"I will," she said as they arrived at the entrance.  
  
"Well, Good night," Harry said.  
  
"Night, Harry," she said.   
  
She brushed her lips to his cheek quickly before disappearing into her common room. Harry walked away smiling. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the five boys following him until one of sniffed. Harry pulled out his wand swiftly and wheeled around.  
  
"Careful, Potter. You might put an eye out with that thing," Malfoy drawled.  
  
For once, Malfoy was not the leader of the group. He, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini were flanked around a stringy looking boy, Theodore Nott, Whitley's brother. He held his wand to Harry's face. Harry became suddenly nervous. He felt like a trapped rat, but he didn't show it at all.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter?" Nott spat at Harry, "That is my sister, Potter. Even she, the blood-traitor that she is, is too good for you. I am giving you fair warning, now. Break it off."  
  
Harry didn't answer; he wasn't going to lie and say he would and he wasn't stupid enough to tell them off with one of him and five of them. He only stood glowering at them.   
  
"You aren't scared. Are you, Potter?" Malfoy sneered.  
  
This time he couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Of what? A scrawny rat, a weasel, two apes, and a jackass?"  
  
"Cr--" was all Nott got out of the spell he was about to use.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Snape had just rounded the corner and reacted quickly on what he saw. The wands flew out of everyone's hands and zoomed to his. Harry had never been so happy to see Snape.  
  
"What is going on down here?" Snape snarled.  
  
"Potter was out of bounds sir. It's past curfew. I was coming to stop him, seeing as I am a prefect. I asked them to come with me in case he started a fight. And as you can see, he has," Malfoy lied, putting on an innocent look.  
  
"That is a lie. And I am allowed out until ten on Wednesdays and Sundays because of the DA," Harry said in a forced calm voice. It wouldn't do to shout at Snape.  
  
Snape narrowed his eyes towards Harry but said nothing. He was obviously contemplating something. He threw the wands back to the Slytherins but kept Harry's.  
  
"Ten points from Gryffindor for provoking a fight," Snape said, "You five, get back to your common room. Potter, with me."  
  
Harry followed soundlessly, not really caring what trouble he was in. He had done nothing wrong, really. Snape took Harry to his office and motioned for him to sit.   
  
"What were you doing in the dungeons?" he asked icily.  
  
"I was going back to Gryffindor common room. I had a DA meeting," he explained.  
  
"The DA meeting place is nowhere near the dungeons. Do not lie to me," Snape snapped.  
  
"I walked one of the members to their common room," Harry said.  
  
Realization seemed to dawn over Snape's face and he said, "Potter, I do not want to see you down in these dungeons alone ever. It's your business who you are friends with. I do not care. But do not act foolish. You know what each and everyone of those boys could be. Now leave my sight."  
  
Harry got to his feet, a bit surprised at Snape's tone. He left the room and Snape followed until he was out of the dungeons and hissed before Harry left, "I am not a babysitter. Next time you will be left alone."  
  
Harry still had the same hate for the greasy haired and it made it worse that he had came and helped Harry. He rolled his eyes in disgust. Harry told Ron, Hermione, and Aira who was sitting with them, when he reached the common room. Ron and Hermione both looked worried but said nothing.   
  
"Damn it!" Aira swore when she heard.  
  
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh I wanted to date a boy from Slytherin. And I don't want to have trouble like this from them," she said.  
  
Hermione stared at her a moment, as though she knew who it was Aira wanted to date and didn't really like it. She shook her head and turned back to Ron and Harry.  
  
"You're not going anywhere alone," Ron was saying.  
  
"Snape was right. But I don't think he thought they were attacking you because of Whitley. Their parents are all Death Eaters, so naturally that would be a reason they were after you," Hermione said.   
  
"I am so sick of being Harry Potter. I can't even walk a friend to their common room without being attacked, for Christ's sake. You guys want to tell me what it's like to have a normal life?" Harry sighed.  
  
"Yes, Harry, our lives our very normal. You are the only one who has a difficult life, the only one with problems," Ron said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Don't talk about what you don't know," Harry said coldly, getting to his feet, "I think I'll go to bed." 


	8. Quidditch Game

Chapter Eight - Quidditch Game  
  
As the days went on, Harry realized exactly what Professor McGonagall was talking about in one of the letters when she wrote, 'It is understood you have an immense workload.' When he looked back, he was surprised how he got through all the regular and extra lessons, Quidditch, and DA meetings without snapping.  
  
Every Monday he had his Occlumency lesson with Dumbledore for no less than an hour and a half. Then Sunday and Wednesday evenings were taken by DA meetings. And then Quidditch was becoming very demanding. Ron kept scheduling extra practices for the team. Harry agreed they could use them. He also kept Harry busy with coming up with new plays, ways to practice, and strategies. Add homework and the occasional detention to all this and Harry was lucky to get any sleep at all. The homework piled rapidly despite the fact that he spent every bit of free time trying to keep up with it. If it weren't for Hermione helping him, he'd never have been able to get through it at all.  
  
The windy, stormy weather was not abating and the first match of the Quidditch season, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, was creeping up. Although it was only the first match, it was probably the most important of the season to Gryffindor. No game against Slytherin ever proved to be easy. They fell back into their typical ways. They never missed a chance to ambush a Gryffindor team member. But this time the Gryffindors gave it right back. This enmity resulted in a good many odd growths, a few missing limbs, some busted lips, one feather covered Gryffindor team member, and a hairless Slytherin captain. By the week of the match, weeks of detentions were booked up.   
  
Professor McGonagall became so aggravated, she told the team members of both houses that they would be suspended from the upcoming match if it even looked like they were going to curse another student. And so it turned out she definitely meant it. When Jack Sloper and the Slytherin keeper began throwing hexes at each other during lunch, she banned both from the upcoming game. So the fighting came to a slow, at least when there was a chance of a teacher seeing. Harry was relieved it was only a minor loss from the team, and not someone more important.  
  
After one particularly brutal practice, as Harry was heading into the locker rooms to change, he overheard Kirke and Leonard talking in an undertone.  
  
"...bad captain. Johnson did better," Leonard was saying.  
  
"Weasley's the one that's leading this team. He knows what he's doing. Harry's a seeker. Plain and simple. Captaining is not for him," Kirke said.  
  
"He's a great seeker, just not made for captain," Leonard agreed.  
  
Harry coughed, causing them to stop talking and he entered the door, acting like he hadn't heard. He saw that Ron was sitting in a corner pouring over a playbook he made up, proving Kirke and Leonard were right.  
  
Harry made up his mind. With all his other work, he had no time to put into captaining a team anyway, but Ron did.   
  
"Hey Ron. Catch!" he said, tossing the badge towards him. Ron reached out and snatched it. As keeper, his reflexes had obviously improved since joining the team. He looked at it bewildered.  
  
"You take it. Trust me, you'll do much better," Harry grinned.  
  
"You serious?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Yeah. I have no time and to be honest, you know more about the whole Quidditch thing than me. I'm a seeker. Plain and simple," he quoted Kirke and laughed to himself as he saw the beater turn red in the face by the doorway.  
  
"I think you've taken a few too many bludgers to the head," Ron said, though he was beaming as he pinned the badge onto his Quidditch robes.  
  
By the Saturday of the match, every team member was feeling nervous. The game was sure to prove to be a brutal one, and Harry was glad he had so many reserves on the team. As usual for the first match of the season, the wind was whipping furiously and rain was pelting to the ground, but they had practiced in it many nights and were ready.  
  
The match was scheduled for directly after lunch. Ron made sure the team ate at least a little bit before leaving for the lockers. He took his new captaincy very seriously. Harry thought he could even be more fanatical than Wood had been, but then he remembered back to his first few years of Quidditch and shook his head. When Ron began a twenty minute lecture on the best strategies to use against Slytherin, though, Harry was sure he was exactly like Wood in his zeal.   
  
There was only fifteen minutes until the match began. Ron's pacing around the locker was driving Harry mad. Fred and George had left right after the speech to get some air, as they said. Harry doubted that. Those two were never not up to something. As Ron made another trip past the door, Harry stopped him.  
  
"Cut it out. You're driving me nuts," he said. Ron seemed to come out of daze.   
  
"Oh, right," he muttered and sat with his diagrams and plans around him, shuffling through them and muttering. Harry was about to tell him to start pacing, that it was better, when Fred and George came in, arms full of shiny packages.  
  
"Just made near fifty galleons out there!" George exclaimed, "They really like these things. Course it's probably not for the candy."  
  
"What is it?" Dennis asked.  
  
"Self-Coloring-Candies. Though that's not the best part," Fred said, "They come with a card. Quidditch cards."  
  
"Oh! I want some!" Graham said.  
  
"Me too!" piped Dennis.  
  
"But they're not just any Quidditch cards. They're Hogwarts Teams Quidditch cards. Seven Sickles each. But one for each Gryffindor team member free, compliments of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," George said, handing a pack to each member. Even Ron was drawn from his daze to take a pack.  
  
Harry took the round silver package handed to him, and tore it open. A blue ball fell out into his hand. He asked, "What did you call these again?"  
  
"Just try it," Fred urged, "They're safe."   
  
Harry reluctantly popped the ball into his mouth and almost choked on it when he saw that hands were a bright blue color. A look around and he saw he wasn't the only one. Ron was a funny orange color, not just his hands, but his whole body. Harry figured he looked much the same.  
  
"Fred! George! What are these?" Ron demanded. Ginny, the only one with enough brains not to put the candy in her mouth, was laughing at them.  
  
"Relax, ickle Ronnie! It wears off in sixty seconds," Fred said, laughing.  
  
"Hey look! I got Terry Boot!" Natalie, the reserve keeper said, brandishing her card to Ginny.   
  
Harry looked down to his, "Zacharias Smith..."  
  
On the front was his picture, name, and position. He flipped it over and on the back were stats and a few key points about his playing.   
  
Zacharias Smith  
  
Sixth Year Chaser of Hufflepuff  
  
Speed- 7  
  
Flying- 5  
  
Handling- 6   
  
Accuracy- 6  
  
Power- 8   
  
Overall- 6.5  
  
Smith holds Season record of longest thrown successful   
  
goal of the Quaffle against Ravenclaw keeper, Terry Boot.  
  
"Eurgh, Malfoy.." Ron said, crumpling the card and throwing it aside.  
  
"We had to be fair about it so we asked Madam Hooch to help us. She was the one who decided on the final stat numbers," Fred said.  
  
"Hey, I've got you Natalie!" Dennis said, rushing over to show her the card.  
  
"Anyone got me?" Ron asked.  
  
"We have many more here. Seven Sickles each," Fred said, waving a silver pack before them.  
  
Harry couldn't help but buy five of them. He thought Fred and George had really had a great idea this time. He opened them all, removing the card, and leaving the candy inside. Colin Creevey, Fred Weasley, Lisa Turpin, Roger Davies, and Whitley Nott. Harry smiled and stuffed the other cards in his pocket. He watched Whitley zoom around on her broom in the picture on the card for a few seconds before turning it over and reading the back.  
  
Whitley Nott  
  
Seventh Year Beater of Slytherin  
  
Speed- 8  
  
Flying- 9  
  
Handling- 8  
  
Accuracy- 9   
  
Power- 10   
  
Overall- 9  
  
Nott's dead center aim is only beaten by the outstanding   
  
power of her swing. Possibly one of the strongest players on the field.   
  
Harry turned it over again and was watching the picture of her flying, when Ron tapped him on the shoulder with his broom.  
  
"Time to play," he said, giving a nervous smile. He looked to see what Harry was watching and frowned, "Harry, don't let your girlfriend get in the way of your playing."  
  
"I wouldn't do that," Harry said angrily as they marched out into the Quidditch Pitch.   
  
Harry could just barely make out the stands, full of students sporting scarlet and emerald and he was sure he could see a few odd colored faces in the crowd. He took off his glasses and performed the water proof spell Hermione showed him. Mounting his broom, he awaited the blow of Madam Hooch's Whistle. Ron and the Slytherin captain were shaking hands in a death grip.   
  
The thunder was booming loudly and the rain hadn't slowed all day. Once the whistle blew, Harry was off into the sky. He couldn't see very far around him. Below, the Shapes were zooming around. An unfamiliar voice could barely be heard doing commentary.  
  
"It's Graham Pritchard of Slytherin with the Quaffle, going for the goal, Stolen by Weasley. Ginny, that is. Four Weasley's on the Gryffindor team this year. Quidditch talent in their blood. Ginny goes for the middle goal. Quick pass to Aira Bowden who shoots for the left hoop but blocked! Slytherin back in possession."  
  
Harry scanned the field in search of the snitch. It was best if this game was over as quick as possible. He turned around to see the bat of a beater coming straight for his face. He ducked quickly and narrowly avoided having his head splattered on the field.  
  
"FOUL! OH, COME ON! HE ALMOST TOOK POTTER'S HEAD OFF!"  
  
And sure enough, Gryffindor was awarded a penalty shot. Ginny Weasley took it, scoring Gryffindors first goal. Harry never let his gaze stop anywhere too long. He had to keep an eye out, not only for the snitch, but for attacking Slytherins, too.   
  
"10-0 Gryffindor! And Pritchard has the Quaffle, zooming straight to the end of the pitch. A Bludger knocked at him from Fred or George and he swerves around it but he does not see the second one coming from the other twin! That'll teach him to hog the Quaffle. Bullstrode was wide open. Now Mafalda in possession. Makes it to the goal. Score! 10-10 tied!   
  
"And now Ron Weasley gives the Quaffle to Bowden. Pass to Dean Thomas. To Ginny. Back to Thomas. Bowden gets it back and -ouch- nailed with a Bludger! Nott looks like she enjoyed that. The Quaffle is picked up by Bullstrode."  
  
For minutes that seemed to Harry, hours, it went on. It was only fifteen minutes into the game when Gryffindor needed a replacement Chaser. Aira had taken a third Bludger to her arm, though she scored twice, but it now hung limply at her side. Ron called for a time out. Harry flew down to the ground and landed with a splash next to Ron. He waved for Graham Leonard to come over, as Aira was escorted to the hospital wing by Professor McGonagall and Hermione.  
  
"Okay, team! Listen up!" Ron said, "If they're not going to play fair, neither are we. Do what you have to, to win. They sure as hell are."  
  
The team flew into the air with high spirits. Fred and George swinging their bats dangerously. Harry made the mistake of flying too near the Slytherin keeper and it resulted in two of the Bludgers being pelted in his direction. As he swerved one, Fred appeared to deflect the other.  
  
"Fantastic save by Ron! And the Quaffle is seized by Graham Leonard, who speeds halfway down the field and passes to Ginny. She goes for the goal but Bullstrode stops her by flying right into her! Ginny nearly takes a fall! She still has the Quaffle, and she smashes it into Bullstrode's face! Good for her!"  
  
Harry saw Ginny take off and score before Madam Hooch could call a penalty. Millicent Bullstrode had blood pouring from her nose.   
  
"70-90 Gryffindor! And a penalty shot to both teams!"  
  
Harry ignored all else. He had seen a glint of gold near the Slytherin goal. He nearly took off for it before he realized Malfoy was much nearer it and he wouldn't be able to get there in time. He watched as the tiny flutter of gold disappeared from sight.  
  
"Gryffindor misses! 80-90 Gryffindor! And what a shot by Vincent Crabbe! He threw his bat at keeper Ron Weasley! Weasley looks to be injured but he steadies his broom! And he speeds down to the ground, picking up Crabbe's bat! He's after the Slytherin beater! His brothers are after him, trying to stop him!"  
  
Harry couldn't help but stop to watch what was happening. Fred had Ron by the collar and George was prying the bat out of his hands. Harry saw that his foot stuck out at an odd angle, but he seemed unaware of it. Finally, Madam Hooch got the bat from Ron and gave it back to his rightful owner. She awarded a shot to each team, but first demanded that Ron find a replacement keeper, because his ankle was broken.  
  
"I DON'T NEED MY FOOT TO PLAY QUIDDITCH!" he yelled before flying back up to his goalpost. Harry had to admire his fervor for the game. Not even a broken bone was stopping him and that confirmed he was more fanatical than Wood.  
  
A few minutes later and Slytherin needed to replace a chaser and a beater and Gryffindor had lost Graham Leonard. Crabbe and Mafalda had double teamed him, sending him into a fifty foot dive. Fred and George had then both hit a Bludger at the same time toward Crabbe. It whaled him in the stomach and sent him into Pritchard, who took the same fall as Leonard.  
  
And while Harry watched this happen, a Bludger came flying at him from behind. It just barely missed his shoulder, and he turned to see Whitley grinning at him. Harry fell to searching for the snitch again.  
  
"Blaise Zabini is in for Pritchard and Gregory Goyle for Vincent Crabbe! It's Colin Creevey with the Quaffle. He's taking it down the field. Not fast enough though and stolen by Zabini! Then to Mafalda. She scores! 180- 140 Slytherin!"  
  
Harry cursed. They were forty points behind and had only two good Chasers, though Colin did make an effort. Harry saw Malfoy dart across the pitch. Harry went after him. At first, he thought he was going after the snitch, but there was no sign of it. He was headed right after Colin, who froze in the air. Harry reached for the end of Malfoy's broom, just as Colin tried to turn and get away. Colin fumbled for a moment before falling off. Harry seized the tail of Malfoy's broom and shook him off. Malfoy went straight down but his broom, on the other hand, soared away and met the same fate Harry's had in his third year, the Whomping Willow.   
  
Madam Hooch caught both Malfoy and Colin with a spell to slow them before they hit the ground. Malfoy looked around, apparently for his broom and Harry laughed. The Slytherin captain called for a time out. Harry flew down with the other team mates.   
  
"Great job, Harry!" Fred beamed at him.  
  
"You killed his broom!" Ron said.  
  
"That'll be a definite advantage!" Ginny said.   
  
"What about Colin?" Ron frowned, "Is he okay?"  
  
"Fine. He just got scared," Ginny said.  
  
"Everything's go, here," she said and a few second's after, the whistle blew. Harry took flight beside Malfoy, looking at the new broom he was using. It was Comet Two-Sixty, a school broom.   
  
"Penalty shot to both teams!" Lee announced. Both scored. Another few minutes passed slowly, with Harry searching for that damned snitch.   
  
"Slytherin scores! 230-210 Slytherin! And Thomas with the Quaffle. He sends it flying into the left goal post! A Gryffindor goal! ANOTHER FIGHT! Goyle, Zabini, Fred, and George!"  
  
Harry looked down to see the four brawling. He couldn't believe what a match this was turning out to be. And then Malfoy streaked past him, flying towards the stands. Harry was about to take off after him, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the snitch fluttering inches away. He reached out and grabbed it easily. He threw his fist up with the glittering ball, and saw Malfoy's stunned face look up.  
  
"POTTER'S GOT THE SNITCH! A GRYFFINDOR WIN! Final score of 230-370!"  
  
Harry flew to the ground, one of the few uninjured players. That was a first. Ron limped over to him, brushing away the crowd around him. The three beaters and one chaser lay in the grass, not looking very well. Colin looked exhausted. Ginny and Dean were helping Fred and George to their feet, while McGonagall and Hooch reprimanded their behavior.   
  
"Hospital wing! Serves you right! Fighting like that!" McGonagall scolded.  
  
Fred and George looked like they had been battling with the Whomping Willow and lost. Goyle and Zabini looked no better. As a matter of fact, almost every player was hurt in someway. Harry went to the locker room with the remaining players and hurriedly changed.  
  
What was left of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall to cheers and applause coming from three of the four house tables loud enough to rival the storm encasing the castle. Every surly face of the Slytherin table was sending nasty glares at them. Whitley had her eyes narrowed in the team's direction until Harry caught her eye and she forced a half-smile that looked more like a grimace and turned away a split-second after.  
  
"Good luck with that," Aira muttered to Harry, watching Whitley jab viciously with a fork at her plate.   
  
Harry opened his mouth to say something but a familiar rustling noise caught his attention. He looked up curiously to the source of the noise. Squinting, he could just barely make out the outline of a group of near a hundred owls right outside the enchanted ceiling. They swooped into the hall, bearing those dreaded black envelopes. Harry felt the blood drain from his face and his heart dropped into his stomach. The owls swooped through the hall, dropping portentous letters in front of students, none of whom were sitting at this point. All talking had stopped abruptly as the owls arrived, but as they realized what the owls bore, a panic broke out in the Great Hall.  
  
An owl swooped down and for a moment, Harry thought it was going to drop a letter in front of him, but the letter landed at Aira's feet. She snatched it up and fled out of the hall. Many students followed her lead; some were collapsed into friends arms, crying.   
  
At the staff table, Dumbledore was on his feet. He was talking hurriedly to Professor McGonagall when, not one of the black, but a plain white letter was dropped in front of him. He snatched it up rather quickly and opened it. Harry made his way through the crowded hall towards the staff table. He wanted to know just what the hell was going on, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Whitley clutching the contents of one of the black envelopes in a trembling hand.   
  
"Whitley!" he called above the few heads that separated him from her.  
  
She turned to him and he could see tears brimming in eyes. In seconds, Harry was at her side. No words were spoken; she only buried her face into his shoulder. His arms seemed to automatically fall around her comfortingly.   
  
"M-my Aunt," Whitley's sob was muffled in his robes.   
  
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.  
  
He paid little attention to the others in hysterics around and barely heard Dumbledore's words as he gave one of his small consoling speeches to the students before him. When everyone was directed to go to their own dormitories, Harry reluctantly left Whitley to get to her dormitory, though one of her Slytherin friends accompanied her compassionately.  
  
"Harry!" Ron yelled from a crowd of students, sticking out with his flaming hair. He shoved his way through to Harry and nodded his head towards a corner of the hall, where Dumbledore was disappearing through a set of oak doors. Harry wanted desperately to chase after him and demand to be told what was going on and may have if McGonagall hadn't called spoken to him, seeing where his gaze fell.  
  
"To your dormitory, Potter. I shall be up in a moment. I still do not have a full account of what happened myself," she said sharply, answering his unasked question.  
  
"Yes, Professor," he said, following, with Ron, the departing crowd of grieving students.   
  
"Seamus lost his father," Ron said quietly, as Seamus passed soberly, grasping the horrid letter in his hand. As Harry looked around him, he registered exactly how much grief had been spread in the last fifteen minutes. Sombre expressions and sad faces were all about, many students crying themselves sick over their losses.  
  
"Where's Mione?" Harry asked Ron, as they, with the rest trudged up the stairs to Gryffindor tower.  
  
"She went after Aira, after she ran from the hall," Ron answered.  
  
It was nearly half an hour before Professor McGonagall showed up in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"I would like all of the students to know that I am deeply sorry for all losses and if any student would like to talk, they are welcome to. I hope the older students and prefects will offer their comfort to younger students also," she said, "All classes are canceled for the week. A train will leave tomorrow at noon to take students to King's Cross to meet parents (Here Seamus stifled a sob.) and other family. The train will make a return trip on Saturday at ten."  
  
She then turned and left the common room. She didn't say a word as to what happened to cause so many deaths. Harry figured she either still did not know herself or she was purposely keeping them in the dark.  
  
Harry and Ron soon went up to their dormitory to go to sleep. They both agreed it had been a long day and were ready for it to come to an end. After a few hours of normal sleep, Harry found himself in an unfamiliar room. Across from him sat a man he did not recognize, though his eyes had the same twinkle Harry often saw in his headmaster's. Before him was a ball of bluish light.  
  
"It is time I show you this," the man said quietly, "When your parents died, a prophecy was made about you. Now it is time you have heard it."  
  
The man cracked the ball open like an egg and out drifted a woman and she said huskily, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. . . . Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. . . . The Dark Lord shall not thrive if not he unites with the one with the power to vanquish him. . . "  
  
That hiss belonging to Lord Voldemort penetrated Harry's ears, "So that is it, Potter? I shall be seeing you soon, then."  
  
Harry woke with a leaping sensation in his stomach, a happy feeling. He knew it was not his own. He shook himself and sat up, his dream still burning clearly in his memory. He tried to comprehend what it was about. It must have been another memory he lived through like the other ones, he thought, but he didn't know who's memory it was. Who is it that must coexist with Voldemort? Who's memory was it? he asked himself over and over. Whatever Harry had just seen, Voldemort had obviously seen it too and he was happy about it. Harry knew he had to tell Dumbledore this time, but he still hesitated.   
  
After a few moments of contemplation, he headed out of the dormitory and quietly hurried through the deserted common room. The portrait swung open and he hurried down the corridor for the headmaster's office, without regard for curfew. He was nearly at the corridor when Filch showed up.  
  
"Potter! What do you think you're doing?" he yelled.  
  
Harry ignored the caretaker completely and ran right past him to the stone gargoyle's outside Dumbledore's office.   
  
"Skiving Snackbox," he panted and stepped onto the staircase. Before entering the headmaster's office, he knocked a few times.   
  
A quick look around told him Dumbledore was out. Harry wasn't surprised. He decided to leave a short note, so Dumbledore would know he needed to speak with him. He walked over to the large desk and took a quill, ink, and parchment. He wrote:  
  
Professor Dumbledore,   
  
I need to talk to you. I had one of those dream things again. Voldemort was happy. I think he found out about a prophecy of him and someone else, but I don't know who. You said I should let you know if I had any more of the dreams, so here. Now you know.  
  
Harry  
  
He left it on plain sight on the desk and was about to leave when Fawkes came flying through in through an open window. He dropped a sheet of parchment on Dumbledore's desk. Harry was tempted to see exactly what it was and he would have resisted the urge if the phoenix hadn't flipped it over so the signature on the bottom could be seen, as he picked up Harry's scribbled note. He took off out the window with the parchment and faded into the darkness. Harry didn't care that the bird had just taken his letter. He was more concerned with what was written on the letter.  
  
He picked it up and read:  
  
Albus,   
  
Molly and I received your warning just in time. We grabbed what we could and left for Grimmauld Place. The house was destroyed along with many possessions, but we are thankful that is all. Bill was here when we arrived, not in good shape. A Death Eaters was at his home. He tried to get information about Harry from him, Bill was able to get away, though. One of the few who did during this attack. Percy arrived shortly after. The Grangers will be here in the morning. Remus will be escorting them. Any more news I'll send immediately.  
  
Arthur  
  
Harry dropped the letter and left the room. All he could think about as he descended the stairs was the trouble and danger he had brought upon the Weasley family and now the Granger's. But as he entered the chilly corridor, it was shoved aside in his mind for the moment. At the end of the hall, Snape was stalking towards him. Obviously, Filch had notified the teachers that he was out of bed.  
  
"Potter..." he said portentously, "Out of bed this late. I cannot say I am surprised. Let's here your story this time."  
  
Harry said nothing, only glared at the man he loathed. Snape met his glare and repeated himself, "I said let's here you story this time, Potter."  
  
"I don't think it's any of your business, actually," Harry shrugged and made to leave, but Snape's hand flew to his shoulder and pulled him back.  
  
"When I tell you to do something, do it. You may be used to getting your way with everyone else, but don't expect that from me," he snapped.  
  
Harry brushed his hand off as if it were something disgusting and said simply, "Good night, professor."  
  
"You conceited little-" Snape was cut off by the opening of the gargoyle again.  
  
"Hello, Harry. And, ah, Severus. I believe it is very late to be strolling about. What brings you out of beds so late?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Potter is out of bounds again, headmaster," Snape said, looking angry at being addressed as if he were the one doing wrong.  
  
"Yes, of course. A point from Gryffindor, then. Good night, Severus," Dumbledore smiled.  
  
Snape looked furious. Without saying a word he veered around and swept down the hall, muttering angrily.  
  
"Harry, Fawkes has just given me your letter. I do think you will need to tell me in detail what you saw," Dumbledore led him up the stairs back into the office. He motioned for Harry to take a seat opposite him.  
  
"So you've had other dreams like this one?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yeah. I told you about the one where I was bitten by a werewolf. Well, I had more...where I was Hagrid, Sirius, and I don't know who I was in one, but I was at The Burrow," he explained, "But I just had one now that made Voldemort really, really happy. I don't know who I was, but I was sitting in front of a man and he had a prophecy. He said it was time I heard it. And when it broke, it said...well, it said something kind of like the prophecy about me but at the end it said that the dark lord can't...thrive unless..."  
  
"The Dark Lord shall not thrive if not he unites with the one with the power to vanquish him..." Dumbledore said.  
  
"That's it. But how do you know?' Harry asked.  
  
"Because the memory you lived out was mine. A particularly strong one of mine, I might say. When I was seventeen, my uncle showed it to me," Dumbledore said.  
  
"But then I'm not the only one with the power to kill him?" Harry asked.  
  
"That prophecy was not about Voldemort and myself. Voldemort is not the first Dark Wizard to come about, nor will he be the last. That prophecy was about me and Grindelwald. That, however, is not important. The fact that Voldemort is happy about hearing of it is odd. I believe he may think that is the prophecy made about you and he, which means he thinks that unless you join him, he shall not thrive," Dumbledore said as if thinking aloud.  
  
"Do you know why I keep having these dreams?" Harry asked.  
  
"The more I think on it, the more I am sure that he is using a ridiculously simple spell. It makes one relive strong memories of those they are close to. He did not know that you know of the prophecy between yourself and him but he knew that I did. So he did it in hopes that you would relive the one where I hear the prophecy from Professor Trelawney. But, I daresay, that has backfired," he said.  
  
"Right. So now Voldemort is going to want me on his side and not dead and that is good," Harry said.  
  
"Not exactly. You will need to keep up with the Occlumency and work very hard at it. Voldemort has ways of persuading people that are very powerful," Dumbledore said.  
  
"I'd never join him," Harry said.  
  
"I am only saying he has very powerful ways. You will need to block him," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Professor, what happened? All those letters, there must have been some kind of attack?" Harry asked after a few seconds pause.  
  
"Yes. And it was a very well organized attack. From what I have found, Death Eaters across Britain all attacked at once in different locations. all muggle-related people. That is all that I know for certain," Dumbledore said, "Is that all, now, Harry?"  
  
Harry wanted to ask what happened with the Weasley's and Grangers, but that would mean letting Dumbledore know he had read the letter. Instead he only nodded and got to his feet, "Night, Professor."  
  
"Good night, Harry," Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry paid little attention to where he was going. His feet seemed automatically to lead him to the Gryffindor common room. He fell into his bed, glad there were no lessons the next day, being very tired. 


	9. Friendless

Chapter 9 - Friendless  
  
The next morning when Harry woke, it took a few seconds to realize why he was feeling so horrible. When it did sink in, he felt even worse. The attack, the deaths, and the danger he brought to those close to him. The Weasley's had lost there house. The Grangers were in danger and had to be brought to Grimmauld place. And Bill was attacked. All of this because of him.   
  
As he lay there thinking it over, he found that everyone that was remotely close to him was in danger because of him. Every time someone got hurt or died, it was because of him. The more he thought on it, the worse he felt.   
  
By the time the sun had completely risen, he had decided that there was only one way to protect his friends. And when Ron woke and offered him a sleepy 'Good morning.' Harry stood and walked out of the room without answering him, leaving Ron looking confused.  
  
He hurried through the common room to the portrait, ignoring Hermione's, Ginny's, and Aira's sombre hellos. He was halfway down the corridor when he noticed he had company. Aira was tagging along with him, like she always did.  
  
"Stop following me everywhere! Leave me alone!" he snapped at her.  
  
She stood looking hurt. He turned and left. He felt bad, but he didn't want her to be in danger like the others by being friends with him. He sat alone at breakfast and as soon as he saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny coming, he made to leave. But Ginny stopped him in the outside.   
  
"What's wrong with you?" she shouted at him, catching him by surprise. Hermione was beside her, glaring at him.  
  
"That was really rude, Harry. I never expected that from you," Hermione said.  
  
"Aira's up in the dormitory crying! She just lost her mother! And you have the audacity to snap at her like that!" Ginny continued. Between the two of them, he couldn't get a word in. "You may think you can do as you please, Harry Potter, but you can't! So drop the attitude!" Ginny yelled.  
  
"Just leave me alone," he muttered quietly.  
  
"Well, I am glad too see that I'm not the only one who thinks you arrogant," Snape said, giving him a nasty smile. Harry stopped and turned around. He glared at the greasy professor through narrowed eyes.   
  
"Shut up. Just shut your mouth," Harry said, not caring about anything at the moment.  
  
"Thirty points from Gryffindor, Potter. You may get away with that with the headmaster, but you certainly shall not with me. And if you have one more outburst like that you'll be out of my class," Snape hissed.  
  
"Do me the favor," he muttered under his breath and before Snape could say a word, he stormed away.   
  
He had no where to go but his dormitory, so he closed the hangings around his bed, and started to work on his homework to keep his mind busy. He had enough homework piled up to keep him busy for many hours. The first assignment he grabbed was a half finished Potions essay. He tore it to pieces.   
  
He had been working for an hour when Ron interrupted, "Harry?"  
  
"Go away," Harry answered.  
  
"Mum wrote to say we go home on the train today. It leaves at noon," he said.  
  
"I'm not going," Harry said. He did want to, but he needed to break it off with everyone. It was better for them that way, safer.   
  
"What's up with you?" Ron asked.   
  
Harry didn't answer and Ron left. When it was almost noon, Ron returned with Hermione.  
  
"The train leaves in fifteen minutes, Harry," Hermione said, "Mrs. Weasley is going to be upset when you don't come."  
  
"Oh well," Harry forced out.  
  
"Harry, what's bothering you? You can tell us. We're your friends," she said.  
  
"Were my friends. I don't want you as friends any more. I only want you to leave me alone," Harry said. He could hear Hermione sob and the door shut.  
  
"You really are being an arrogant jerk..." Ron said, before following after her. Harry was glad he didn't have to look them in the face when he said all that. He wasn't sure if he could have. And to top off his bad feelings, only an hour the train had been gone when he received a letter from Ginny, telling him what a jerk he was.   
  
That evening, when he went down to get dinner, it was amid glares from his fellow students. It turned out that they all found out what he'd done to Aira and Hermione and thought him a jerk. Dean Thomas, who he always got on well with, told him he couldn't believe how horrible he was to his friends.  
  
It didn't help when that evening, Voldemort visited his dreams. There was no odd dream, but only the hiss of his voice in Harry's ear.   
  
"Harry, my dear boy. I must say you are doing a fine job," he said. Harry tried his hardest to block him out. Voldemort continued, "I, myself, was a loner in school and look how powerful I am, now."  
  
Harry cleared his mind and tried to block him out.  
  
"Come now, Harry. It is ever so much easier to join me than fight me. I've done many great things. You, too, can--"  
  
And there, to Harry's great satisfaction, it stopped.   
  
The next morning, Harry got an owl from Ron and one from Mrs. Weasley. He supposed they were there talking about what was wrong with him, but they didn't know half of what he knew. They didn't understand.   
  
He hadn't left his dormitory the whole of yesterday, but hunger got to him and he went down to breakfast. He noticed that Dumbledore was watching him. He made it a quick meal and took some biscuits up with him so he didn't have to go back down for lunch. Aira had not given up on following him, but he couldn't bring himself to yell at her again and instead, only ignored her. She didn't say a thing, which was quite unusual, as she usually never shut up.  
  
When seven thirty came around, Harry made his way up to the headmaster's office for his Occlumency lesson, fully determined to do well. He managed to shake Aira off before arriving at the entrance. Whitley was coming down the corridor towards him.  
  
"Harry, I haven't seen you all week," she said. Harry knew this would be hard. He definitely didn't want to have to tell Whitley off. He tried to ignore her.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked, "You don't seem like yourself."  
  
"I'm fine. Just deciding how to give this annoying someone the hint to leave me alone," he said coldly. She narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"We're over," she said shortly, before stalking away. Harry felt horrible. He knew it wouldn't be good to have his emotions going before Occlumency, but he couldn't help but feel like shit. The only reason he was even continuing Occlumency was to keep his friends safe.  
  
He said the password and the gargoyle moved, revealing the entrance. Harry climbed up the spiraling staircase and knocked on the door, expecting that usual calm voice of the headmaster asking him to come in but instead he received a snappy, "You're late. Get in here."   
  
It was not the voice of Dumbledore, but that of his most hated Professor. He had the impulse to turn and leave right then. He definitely was not in the mood to spend two hours having Snape break into his mind repeatedly, especially when he had told him off only the day before. He fought the impulse and forced himself to open the door. Snape looked about as happy to see Harry, as Harry did him.  
  
"Alright, Potter. Let's get this over with," he snapped, "And I assure you...I am no happier with this arrangement than you. Legilimens!"  
  
Harry wasn't really caught off guard by the suddenness of the spell. He knew Snape would try that and he was prepared when it hit him. Blocking the spell did not prove to be difficult at all, after he had been practicing with Dumbledore, who was no doubt much more adept than Snape with it.  
  
Harry was able to throw the spell off easily, but he didn't. He decided to have a little fun with it. He focused entirely on one specific memory, that of his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Remus. The memory of Snape dressed in Witch's robes and carrying a purse brought a smirk to Harry's face as he finally threw off the spell.  
  
Snape had his eyes narrowed at Harry, then he grinned sideways, "Let's try that again. Legilimens!"   
  
This time Harry didn't have as much control over it and had no idea why. And to his horror, the memory that came to him, was one most dreaded. He watched as his Godfather fell behind the veil. Just as he completely disappeared, Harry was brought back to Dumbledore's office. He was on all fours, tears trying to push their way out, but he wouldn't let them, not in front of Snape, not in front of anyone. He hurriedly got back on his feet.  
  
"It is much harder to block your mind when one concentrates on finding a specific memory," Snape said.  
  
Harry no longer had to fight back tears. He was beyond tears. He was pissed. Snape tried for that memory. That asshole wanted him to see Sirius die again. The urge to hex Snape into nothing but a shriveled mess was so strong, that Harry was surprised he didn't do it. His rage must have shown in his face, because Snape took a step backward.  
  
"That is all for today," he snapped.  
  
Harry turned and left the office, fuming. If only he had Pure Arts now, he could have not only ripped a paper in half, but the whole damn tree it came from. He sighed in exasperation and shook his head when he saw Aira was sitting right beside the stone gargoyles, waiting for him. She followed him without a word.  
  
As he reached the Gryffindor House Corridor, he turned the opposite way. He wanted to go down to the kitchens and visit Dobby, maybe convince the elf to slip poison into a certain Professor's goblet.  
  
"Harry, we aren't supposed to go wandering at night," Aira spoke up.  
  
"We aren't going to, but I am," he snapped at her. He expected her to go back to the common room, but the sound of footsteps a few feet behind him told him she was still following. He didn't care either way. If she wanted to be his new shadow, fine by him. Once he reached the portrait, he tickled the pear and entered. House elves instantly surrounded him and Aira, asking what they could get them. Harry asked for some treats just to please the passionate elves.   
  
"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is glad to see you!" squeaked the familiar elf. He had on a new array of clothes. This time it was a bright orange shirt, yellow soccer shorts, and the flippers that divers wear. And, of course, he was topped with a dozen or so hats from Hermione. Aira giggled and Harry unintentionally smiled.  
  
"How are you doing, Dobby?" Harry asked politely.   
  
"Dobby is doing fine, sir! Just fine," he squeaked, "Does Harry Potter, sir, remember what Dobby is telling him about the boy with the bad thing on his arm?"  
  
Aira looked at him curiously and Dobby dropped his voice to what was a whisper by his standards, but that anyone could still hear, "Dobby still did not see his face, but he comes into these kitchens, sir! But we house elves is chasing him away."  
  
"Someone was sneaking around in here?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, sir. But we is chasing him away," Dobby repeated.  
  
"Well, all I can say is try to keep him out of here and try to find out who he is," Harry said.  
  
"Yes, sir," he nodded, "Can Dobby do anything else for Harry Potter?"  
  
"Well, actually. Yes," he smirked at his idea, "Dobby, do you think you can get me the ingredients for a love potion?"  
  
"Of course. Dobby knows right where to get them. Can Dobby ask who it is for?"   
  
"Professor Snape," Harry said.  
  
"Ah, but why not pick someone better? He does not seem your type, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said innocently.  
  
Harry cringed at the thought, "No, Dobby. Not for Snape to fall in love with me. For Snape to fall in love with... Let's see... How about Professor McGonagall? It'd be funny to see her reaction to his new emotions."  
  
"Harry, I really shouldn't just let you do this," Aira said, "But I suggest you should pair Snape with Trelawney. Kill two birds with one stone, you know..."  
  
This is going to far, Harry thought, she has to stop palling around with me. He hardened himself for what he had to do.  
  
"Aira, don't you take a hint? I do not like you. Stop following me everywhere!" he shouted at her.  
  
Once again she looked about to cry, then her face turned angry, "Fine, Harry. We aren't friends anymore and seeing that we aren't, I can do this!" she said and she just left, leaving Harry feeling like a jerk. But it was something he had to do, even if it did make him completely miserable.  
  
"Dobby will make the potion for Harry Potter sir. And if Dobby sees the boy again, Dobby will tell Harry, sir," Dobby squeaked, ignoring the scene.  
  
"Thanks, Dobby. And don't call me sir," Harry muttered.  
  
"Yes, sir," Dobby said.  
  
Harry was about to leave when Professor Lupin entered with Aira, giving him one of those Slytherin smirks.  
  
"Harry, you aren't supposed to be out of bed at this time or in the kitchens," Remus reprimanded, "May I ask what you are doing?"   
  
"Just getting some food," Harry said  
  
"The kitchens are out of bounds. Detention," Remus said, "To the both of you."  
  
"Detention to both of us?" Aira repeated.  
  
"Yes, you both were out of bounds. Now, Aira, you can go back up to your dormitory. Harry, come with me," Remus said.  
  
"But Re -er- Professor-" Aira started.  
  
"Go," he said.  
  
Harry followed Professor Lupin out of the kitchens, feeling pissed. He no longer felt bad for telling Aira off, if that's what she's really like. He was so busy thinking about the fact that she ratted him out that he forgot to wonder why Remus wanted to talk to him until they reached his office.  
  
"Have a seat," he pointed to a chair and took a seat opposite him. Harry sat and began to wonder if Aira had told him about the Love Potion idea and if he was in trouble for it.  
  
"Harry, why didn't you to Grimmauld Place with the others for the week?" Remus asked.  
  
"I just rather stay here," Harry said. He thought he'd rather have been in trouble for the potion than talk to Remus about this.  
  
"That's all?" Remus asked, eyebrows slightly raised.  
  
"Yes. It's pretty late, Professor. I'd better go to my dormitory," Harry said, standing.  
  
"Good night, Harry. And if you need to talk, you're always welcome," Remus said.  
  
"I don't need to talk to you about anything," he snapped. He didn't want anyone getting close to him. He left the office swiftly and hurried up to his dormitory.  
  
The rest of the week passed slowly for Harry. He was beginning to feel lonely, though he thought he might as well get used to it. Every day was the same thing. He'd wake very early, get breakfast and come back to his dormitory where he stayed until dinner. It was very boring and he couldn't wait for class to start again, though it meant that he would be among other students again.  
  
He received owls regularly all week and responded to none. He was beginning to feel like he did when at the Dursleys. There was another family he brought danger to. Not going back this summer. I'll be of age, can go where I please, he thought. When the Daily Prophet was delivered, Harry didn't even feel as pleased as he ought to have seeing the articles about Fudge being tried by the Wizengamot for endangering the safety of the Wizarding World over the last year.  
  
And each and every night, without fail, Voldemort came to visit in his dreams. It seemed the more Harry fought to block him, the more he pushed to get in. His last visit had really gotten to Harry.  
  
"Come, now, Harry. What good will resisting me do? If you keep fighting me, I shall begin to pick your friends and family off one by one. I think I'll take the Muggle born first. I tried for her parents earlier, but it seems Dumbledore had them hidden. Oh well. My spies will let me know of their whereabouts.... But, Harry, if you join my ranks, I shall not go after her. I shall let all of your little friends remain alive. You only have to-" And there, Harry was finally able to push him from his mind and he woke in a cold sweat, tangled in his blankets.  
  
When Saturday came, Harry found it harder to shut out his friends. It was easy when they were far away and could only communicate by owl, but now they seemed to stalk him. They were very determined to get him to talk to them. He was able to avoid them that evening by skipping dinner, but he couldn't go without eating for the rest of the year and he was sure to be around them during lessons.  
  
The next afternoon, Harry contented himself by taking out his firebolt and practicing Quidditch for hours. Aira, who had still not given up on following him sat in the stands and watched. He stayed out until he was sure his stomach was eating itself out of hunger and he went into the Great Hall for dinner.   
  
At one end of the Gryffindor table, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins were all sitting and talking. Aira left Harry and sat with them. Harry walked right by and ignored Hermione's attempts to catch his eye. He sat at the end of the table away from everyone else, making his meal hurried as was usual. And when he stood to leave, Hermione followed him. He had been expecting Aira to be the one who followed him. He tried to ignore her as he left the Great Hall, but when he was in the Entrance Hall, she stopped him.  
  
"Harry, what did we do?" she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off, and continued walking.  
  
"I always thought you were a good friend! But obviously, I was wrong, if you'd just dump us like that!" she shouted.  
  
"It's not like I wanted to! I had to!" he said. He felt like he was tricked into responding.  
  
"And why do you have to? I think I deserve to know at least that!" she shouted.   
  
"Because every person that gets close to me winds up dead! And I don't want that to happen to you!" he shouted back. The few people in the entrance hall were staring at them. He dropped his voice, "And don't try to tell me it won't. I know better than that."  
  
"But Harry, I-" she started and Harry cut her off.  
  
"Just stop," he muttered and set off up the steps. He felt a hand on his shoulder again.  
  
"Hermione, leave-" Harry began, but upon turning around, he saw Remus.  
  
"My office, Harry," he said.   
  
"No thanks," Harry said.  
  
"Not a question," the usually passive professor said and Harry reluctantly let Remus lead him to his office.  
  
"So, now I see why you haven't been with your friends. You think anyone that is close to you is in danger. Am I right?" Remus asked. Harry was getting a little angry with Remus for being nosy, but he nodded.  
  
"I must say, that is unfair to you and to your friends," Remus shook his head, "They would be in danger even if they weren't you friends. Hermione, a muggle-born and the Weasleys openly oppose Voldemort. No one is truly safe from him."  
  
"I'm a threat to everyone. You don't understand," Harry muttered.  
  
"Oh, don't I?" Remus said, "Harry, I worry every day that because of me, people can be killed. I don't know if you've forgotten that I am a werewolf or not. I worry that at any time, if I were to forget to take my potion, I could get loose and..." He trailed off. Harry didn't need him to finish.   
  
"When I was at Hogwarts, I tried to seclude myself everyone, but I found it very lonely. And with Sirius and your father pushing, I found it very hard not to be their friends. I can't imagine how I'd have gotten on with out them. You need friends, Harry," Remus said.  
  
Looking at the situation from this point of view, Harry realized that it was a bit stupid to do that but Voldemort's voice from his dreams crept back up. 'I think I'll take the Muggle born first...' He remembered Remus's offer to talk to him if he wanted to, "He said he was going to kill my friends one by one."  
  
"Harry, he threatened every family in the wizarding world with that. Don't let him fool you. And that just proves you can't abandon your friends. Voldemort already knows who they are, and so it's too late," Remus said.  
  
Harry sighed. He knew Remus was right and felt foolish for ever trying to abandon any one of his friends.  
  
"I suggest you go talk to your friends," Remus smiled, "Maybe you should write to Mrs. Weasley first. She was quite worried when you didn't show up and then ignored all of her letters."  
  
"Thanks," Harry said before leaving. He went up to the owlery looking for Hedwig to send a letter to Mrs. Weasley. He wrote a small letter to her and found Hedwig perched near a barn owl.   
  
"Take this to Mrs. Weasley," he told her. She clicked her beak and took flight out the window. He turned and began to make his way to the common room. As he was passing the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy, he felt many pairs of hands forcing him into the room of requirements. He saw enough red hair to know it was the two youngest Weasleys, Hermione and Aira with them.   
  
Harry didn't fight them off at all. He was forced into a chair by Hermione and Ron, while Ginny and Aira stood at the door to stop him from leaving. He just looked at them, bemusedly.   
  
"You are not going to leave until you hear us out," Ron said and they seemed surprised when he didn't argue.  
  
"Hermione told us all what you said to her about how you can't be our friend because you care about us and all that mushy crap. And I happen to think it's all a pile of bull. Since when do you get to decide how much danger we can handle? I don't remember giving you that authority," Ginny said. Harry was getting quite used to her quick temper. She definitely wasn't that shy little sister of Ron's any more.  
  
"I don't see where you get off deciding who we can or can't be friends with. I think it's up to us to decide if we want to be friends with you," Ron said.  
  
"We knew what we were getting into when we became your friend. If we didn't ditch you yet, what makes you think we'd want to now?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry just shrugged. He thought he should let them continue if they went through all the trouble of ambushing him like this.  
  
"I thought we proved ourselves last year when we went with you to the Department of Mysteries. We want to be your friends. So get over it," Ron said.  
  
Harry stood and smiled. He shrugged, "Okay then."  
  
They all looked at him surprised. They obviously didn't think he was going to give in so easily. He couldn't help but laugh at the confused looks on their faces. He already felt happier, having them back. He checked the time on his watch. It was seven thirty.   
  
"We have a DA meeting in half an hour. I didn't plan anything for today. Going to help me get ready?" he asked the group of friends.  
  
"I really don't get you..." Ron shook his head.  
  
"I just realized how stupid I was being," Harry shrugged, "Sorry."  
  
"No need to apologize to us. It's Whitley you ought to be worried about. You really pissed her off," Ginny said.  
  
"How bad?" he asked.  
  
"Bad enough," Ron said, "That she called you a selfish prat, a git, a jerk, an as-"  
  
"Okay! I get it," Harry sighed.  
  
"Best thing to do is apologize. She probably won't come to the meeting tonight. Come to think of it, I don't expect many to show at all. You aren't exactly everyone's favorite person right now," Hermione said.  
  
The next thing to happen proved Hermione wrong completely. Whitley came in, out of breath, and threw her arms around Harry.  
  
"Harry, I just heard a girl from Ravenclaw talking. She was saying how you thought you couldn't be friends with us any more, because you thought it would bring us to danger. And I set off to find you and tell you that it was stupid. That it is stupid. I don't care about any of that," she said.  
  
"I'm sorry about being rude the other day. Didn't realize how stupid I was being," Harry said.  
  
"That's alright, now that I know why," she smiled, "You should hear all the girls talking about how caring and sweet you are. I don't think you're most hated person in school any more. Snape's gotten his title back."  
  
Next to arrive were Dean, Seamus, and Neville. The fact that they showed up for the meeting was enough proof that they didn't still think him a jerk and they started talking to him. By eight, every member of the DA had shown up, with the exception of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team members, and Professor Green, who was most likely doing Order business. The meeting was a fairly good one, aside from the exasperating comments from girls about how compassionate he was. He ignored the comments as best he could.  
  
Harry had been practicing the healing charms in his spare time and had mastered the basic ones and the more complex ones to some extent. Hermione had done a much better job with them than Harry and helped when teaching the others.   
  
At the first meeting when Harry decided to try this, they had run into a snag. They had nothing to actually perform the spell on. And, luckily when this thought had run across Harry's mind, a dozen or so lifelike arms had appeared on the desk, each damaged in one way or the other. They continued to use these to practice on. Hermione explained that they were the same things used by healers in training. Harry made a mental note to thank Dobby again about finding this room.   
  
Harry was walking around the room, checking on everyone's progress. After a dozen meetings of practice, the class was able to heal sprains, small cuts, and minor pains. Harry was very satisfied with their progress. In their last Potions class, Parvati had managed to get burnt and she was able to heal the small wound herself. And Neville had received a bite from a Plant in Greenhouse Five, and he had gotten rid of all swelling in his finger himself.   
  
Hermione and Ron were currently involved in another argument and Harry tried to ignore them. They never gave it a rest.  
  
"I don't know why you care. First of all, Viktor and I are only friends. And if we were more than that, it would be none of your business, Ron Weasley," Hermione said angrily.  
  
"I don't care what you do. You can go over and visit your little boyfriend. See if I care," Ron said.  
  
"They really need to get together or something..." Ginny muttered, shaking her head.  
  
"Ron and Hermione? Never. They can't go for five minutes without arguing," Harry said.  
  
"Ron likes Hermione!" Ginny whispered, "And I think Hermione likes him. They'll never admit it, though.  
  
Harry thought the idea of Ron and Hermione together was funny at first, but then it seemed to make sense to him that they would be together. He shrugged it off. Didn't matter either way. By the end of the meeting, it did, though, with all their arguing. He figured that if they admitted to each other that they liked one another, maybe they'd cut out the whole argue whenever possible thing. 


	10. Discovered

Chapter 10 - Discovered  
  
"Harry Potter, sir, Dobby has your Potion. It is ready in the kitchens," Dobby squeaked, waking Harry one morning. It was late into the morning and if it hadn't been for Dobby poking him awake, he'd have slept right through his first class and as it was Potions, that would not be good.  
  
"Thanks Dobby," Harry said groggily.  
  
"Sir is welcome," Dobby beamed, "It will be used tonight, sir. Dobby will do it."  
  
Harry knew he'd have to skip breakfast to make it to class on time. He pulled on some clean clothes, grabbed his Potions things, and ran to Snape's class, making it through the door right as the bell rang.  
  
"Five points from Gryffindor for almost being late," Snape snapped  
  
Harry bit his tongue and took his seat. He knew he was going to pay back Snape soon. The thought calmed him and even brought a smile to his face.  
  
Hermione nudged him in the side and passed him a copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry took it and put it on his lap so Snape wouldn't see it. On the front of the cover was Fudge, looking distressed. The heading above the picture delighted Harry.  
  
EX-MINISTER OF MAGIC, CORNELIUS FUDGE,   
  
REISGNS BEFORE HE CAN BE THROWN OUT OF OFFICE  
  
He wanted to read the article, but he didn't want to risk being caught doing so in Potions, so he set it aside to read after. The news kept his spirits high all class, even when Snape gave him bottom marks for his nearly flawless potion. As soon as he was out of the classroom door, he opened the paper and began to skim through the article.  
  
After being brought before the Wizengamot with several charges of endangering the wizarding community, Cornelius Fudge announced to Daily Prophet reporters that he would be resigning as Minister of Magic...The results of Fudge's trial are pending. The position of Minister of Magic has been offered to Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry, but he declined, saying he would never leave the school...The Wizengamot now has to decide between many qualified persons that are willing to take the job...  
  
Harry didn't read any more. All that mattered was that Fudge was out.   
  
"Isn't that great?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Absolutely," Harry agreed, "It's about time."   
  
"I wonder who the Wizengamot will pick. I can't believe Dumbledore turned it down," Hermione said.  
  
"He did last time, too. That's how Fudge got it," Harry said, as Ron came hurrying over waving a piece of parchment at them.  
  
"Dad's been nominated!" he exclaimed, "Mum wrote to tell me. Him and three others. Dumbledore nominated him."  
  
"That's fantastic!" Hermione said happily.  
  
"The Wizengamot vote this weekend. We'll know then. The others are high up in the Ministry, but Dumbledore said he thought they needed someone focused more on the people than the publicity and galleons and that Dad already proved himself," Ron said, proudly.  
  
"Don't hold your breath on that one," Malfoy sneered, "The day a Weasley is minister of magic is the day this world has gone to hell."  
  
"Hey, Malfoy, where's your father again? Hiding from the ministry, isn't he?" Ron asked. That shut him up pretty well. A few students that heard laughed.  
  
Lessons went by as fast as they ever did, which was pretty slow, and they received a lot of homework to make up for the missed week. Harry couldn't wait until dinner time. He told Ron all about his Love Potion and they couldn't stop laughing. He had known better than to say a word to Hermione though.  
  
Harry and Ron tried not to look suspicious during dinner, but they couldn't help but throw glances at Snape, checking to see him empty the goblet. When Snape lifted it to his lips, Harry had to stifle a laugh. And moments later, Snape was kneeling before Professor McGonagall. Many were staring at the strange scene.   
  
"Minerva, my dear. I no longer can hide my true feelings," Snape said in a sweet voice that in no way like his usual cold tone.  
  
"Severus, get up. What's wrong with you?" she snapped, looking embarrassed.  
  
"I love you, Minnie," he said. Then he bent to her ear and whispered something that no one else heard. After that, Professor McGonagall slapped him across the face and walked out of the hall.  
  
Harry and Ron weren't the only ones who were laughing in the hall now. Every student either was staring at Snape in shock or breaking into fits of laughter. Harry now knew why Fred and George got such a kick out of making people laugh. It was good to see that they could still smile with everything that was going on.  
  
Professor Snape seemed to come to himself with the stinging slap he received. He stood and looked around, his face going even paler than it was, which Harry didn't think was possible. He left the hall towards the dungeons with as much dignity as he could muster.   
  
Harry saw up at the staff table that some of the teachers were trying to hide grins, without succeeding. Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked around the hall at the laughing students.   
  
All during the rest of the week, the biggest topic of conversation was that of Snape's Monday evening performance. He seemed in a particular venomous mood, handing out detentions randomly to anyone that seemed to be near him.   
  
Harry and Ron wore the subject out quickly and fell to thinking about the upcoming Friday, when the new Minister of Magic would be chosen. Harry was certain Mr. Weasley would be the one to get it.   
  
"If Dumbledore nominated him, that pretty much settles it," he told Ron, as they and Hermione were doing homework in the common room the evening of the decision by the Wizengamot.  
  
"The others are all big and up there in the ministry, though," Ron worried.  
  
"He has just as much chance as them. Even more. Dumbledore's opinion counts for a lot. Don't you agree Mione?" Harry asked, "Hermione?"  
  
She was staring off at the far wall, biting the top of her quill.  
  
"Hey, Hermione, you there?" Harry asked, snapping his fingers. She started.  
  
"Oh, what?" she asked.  
  
"I said Ron's dad's got a good shot at becoming Minister," Harry repeated.  
  
"Yeah," she nodded. Harry and Ron shrugged about to go back to their work when she jumped up.  
  
"Harry! I think I get it now. It all makes sense. I cannot believe her!" Hermione exclaimed, "But, of course Dumbledore would have wanted. But, oh, Harry, you're going to be so mad!"  
  
"Will you just tell us what you're going on about this time?" Ron asked.  
  
"Aira," she said quietly, "She's not her. She's someone else."  
  
"You really are good at explaining things, let me tell you," Ron muttered. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Do you remember when we eavesdropped on Dumbledore and Tonks that evening at Grimmauld place and Dumbledore said he expected Tonks on the train? Well, she was there," she said, and sighed when they both still looked confused, "Aira. She's Tonks. That's why she keeps following you around. I suppose Dumbledore put her up to it. I guess to keep an eye on you."  
  
"No. Are you sure?" Ron asked. Harry was so mad he couldn't find his voice. He knew it all made sense and Hermione was rarely wrong about these things.  
  
"There is a way we can check. Just use the Marauder's map. It will tell us exactly who she is," Hermione said.   
  
Harry ran up the stone steps to his dormitory. He pulled out the map from his trunk and tapped it, muttering, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."   
  
Lines appeared on the parchment showing every hall, room, and passage of Hogwarts. Harry looked to the room labeled Gryffindor Girls Dormitory, and sure enough, there was a dot labeled Nymphadora Tonks. Harry swore. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before.  
  
"Is it her?" Ron asked. He and Hermione were in the doorway looking at him. He nodded and brushed past them, taking the stairs two at a time.  
  
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Dumbledore," he said shortly. He was about to leave the common room, when the one he wanted to see least came after him.  
  
"Hey, Harry. Where you going?" Aira, or Tonks said.  
  
"You!" he spat, "Get away from me! I really do mean it this time! If you take another step towards me, I'll hex you till you can't move."  
  
"What'd I do?" she asked Hermione and Ron.  
  
Hermione turned and walked away, while Ron shot her daggers. She looked thoroughly confused.  
  
"Well, Tonks," Harry snarled, lingering on the name, "I don't think I need a babysitter anymore."  
  
Now she looked shocked, "Oh."  
  
"Oh...I can't believe you!" he yelled.  
  
"Harry, I had to-" she began.  
  
"Stop. I don't want to hear it," Harry said, leaving the common room. He wasn't surprised when she followed him.   
  
"Harry, I really had no choice. I had to do this. They wanted to make sure you stayed out of trouble," she said.  
  
"When you say they, you mean Dumbledore, right?" Harry asked angrily.  
  
"No, it -er- well, yes," she said, "But he knows you have a tendency to get in trouble, so he had me come to male sure you didn't."  
  
"You mean he hired you to baby-sit me!" Harry shouted. Tonks continued to give explanations and apologies as she followed Harry to the stone gargoyles. When he stopped, he saw that she had morphed back to her regular self.  
  
"Skiving Snackbox," he said and the gargoyle slid out of the way. He hurried up the stairs into the headmaster's office, without bothering to knock.  
  
"I can't believe you thought you could do this!" Harry shouted. Dumbledore looked up from his desk and stared at Harry in surprise.  
  
"Albus, I don't know how he found out," Tonks said as she entered after Harry. Dumbledore then seemed to know what Harry meant.  
  
"Ah, Nymphadora, Harry. Please sit down," he gestured.  
  
"I do not want to talk to you right now," Harry said.  
  
"Then why did you come?" Dumbledore asked serenely. Harry wasn't in the mood for his contesting.  
  
"To tell you that I think your getting me a babysitter was way out of line. I'm sixteen and if you think I need someone trailing me everywhere, you're wrong. I don't see any other students with someone accompanying them everywhere," Harry glared at Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry, I did not ask Tonks to baby sit you," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Then to spy on me or something," Harry said.  
  
"Nor to spy on you," he said, "I asked her to make sure nothing happened to you. Such as five boys cornering you in the dungeons, or perhaps sneaking into forbidden places, such as Hogsmeade or the forest."  
  
"It sounds very much like babysitting to me. And you pretty much tricked me into letting her in on my life," he said, ignoring the hissing portraits.  
  
"Harry, I apologize, but I did what I thought was best," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Well, I'm not so sure if you ever know what's best. If you take a look, you haven't been doing very well with it," Harry muttered.  
  
"I have already apologized for the past, as I've said before," Dumbledore said calmly, "What more do you wish me to do?"  
  
"Try leaving me alone," Harry said icily, leaving before Dumbledore could talk him out of his anger.  
  
Harry stormed to the common room. He still couldn't believe Aira was Tonks, though it did make sense. He had trusted Aira, though. He had trusted Tonks. He never though Tonks would do that to him. By the time he reached the common room, he was no longer so angry, but more offended.  
  
"Hey, Harry, you see Dumbledore?" Ron asked. He was standing outside the entrance, noise issuing loudly from behind the portrait of the fat lady.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said.  
  
"He didn't tell you?" Ron asked and Harry noticed he looked extremely happy. He could only guess why.  
  
"Then they voted on it?" he asked, excitement filling him, "Your dad got it?"  
  
"He did!" Ron exclaimed, "He got it. I still can't believe it. My dad, Minister of Magic."  
  
"That's great! No one deserves it more," Harry said, happily.  
  
"Wait till you see the common room. Fred and George's doing. They just sent a group of seventh years to Hogsmeade for stuff," Ron said.  
  
"Frilly socks," Harry said the password. The Fat Lady swung open to reveal a crowd of celebrating Gryffindors. It seemed they were all pleased to have Mr. Weasley as the new Minister of Magic. Either that or they were just looking for an excuse to have a party. A poster of Mr. Weasley now hung on one of the walls. The tables were covered in food that had obviously been nicked from the kitchens.   
  
"Punch?" George offered with a mischievous grin.  
  
"I think I'll pass," Harry said.  
  
"No need to worry, Harry. It's only a bit of Ogden's best we added in," Fred said.  
  
"You spiked the punch?" Ron asked.  
  
"Shut-up! You want Miss Perfect Prefect to confiscate it?" George asked, shooting a glance at Hermione, who was talking with Ginny.  
  
"We put an age line around it anyway. No one under fifteen," Fred said, "So, you want some?"  
  
Ron eagerly took the glass. Fred handed another to Harry.   
  
"Ronald Weasley. You're a prefect!" Fred mocked his mother or was it Hermione.  
  
"I believe you are too," Ron said.  
  
"But no one expects us to live up to it," Fred shrugged.  
  
Ron slammed his whole glass and Harry saw that that was a stupid thing to do as he began to cough and sputter.  
  
"Take it easy, Ron. It is your first time drinking, you know," George said.  
  
Harry took a cautious sip of his own. It burnt a bit as he swallowed it and seemed to settle heavily in his stomach.   
  
"I think maybe we should go easy on that stuff," Ron said. Harry nodded.  
  
By the end of the night, they had each had eight glasses from the punch bowl, which kept filling itself. That was enough to have Hermione looking at them strangely for their behavior. They were nothing, though, compared to Dean Thomas, who had apparently drank near twelve. He was chasing every Gryffindor female around the common room, confessing his hidden love for them. Seamus wasn't too far behind him, at nine, and nearly as bad. He was doing some weird jig on the table near the fireplace and singing. Many of the others were doing things of the same nature.  
  
It was nearly two in the morning and Fred had just managed to talk Colin out of going to find Vincent Crabbe to fight him, when Professor McGonagall entered the common room, looking angry. George quickly cleared away all of the punch with a swish of his wand.  
  
"All of you to your dormitories!" she shouted.  
  
"But fessor, werr havin fun," Dean's speech was slurred, "You know fessor, you look real nice t'night. I ever tell you--"  
  
"Yeah, I think we'll go to bed, now," George interrupted Dean.  
  
He pulled him away from Professor McGonagall by his robes and toward the dormitory stairs, leaving her looking confused. The other students followed discontentedly. Harry found he needed to hold onto the wall for support as he walked, so that he didn't fall over himself. Ron was in front of him, wobbling uncertainly.  
  
Just as Professor McGonagall left them, Colin Creevey stumbled over nothing at all and fell into the couch. Hermione went to help him up and when she tried to help him up, she realized he was passed out. No one bothered to help him up to his bed. He wasn't the only one left there. Apparently a few third years got hold of the punch, because they were snoring in the corner of the common room.  
  
The next morning, Harry woke feeling sick and very glad it was a Sunday, without classes. He looked at the bed beside him and saw Ron's greenish face looking back at him.   
  
"What happened?" Ron asked.  
  
"No idea," Harry muttered. He pulled the blanket over his head to block out the sunlight. His head was throbbing.  
  
"Did I get into a fight last night?" Ron asked.  
  
"I can't remember a damn thing," Harry said.  
  
"Will you two please shut up? You're making my head hurt more," came Dean's voice from across the room. Then came hurried footsteps that went to the door. Harry saw Neville nearly trip over something and flee out of the room. The thing he nearly tripped over was Seamus, who lay sprawled across the middle of the floor.  
  
"Rise and shine everyone!" came the cheery, unwelcome voice of Fred Weasley.  
  
"My, you all are looking very well today," George said, laughing.  
  
"Get out," Dean muttered. Harry wanted to chuck a pillow at him but couldn't find the strength.  
  
"Do you boys even remember any events of last night?" Fred asked, tauntingly. Harry tried to remember. As far as he got was George giving him some punch and him finishing it.  
  
"Dean almost confessed his love to McGonagall. Should be very happy we stopped him. Look here at Seamus. Couldn't find his bed," Fred said.  
  
"And Ron, the way you were going on about Hermione..." George said.  
  
"What?" Ron jumped up and seemingly regretted it as he laid back down with a moan.  
  
"Just kidding on that one, little bro," they laughed.  
  
"Well, you've had your first drink boys. How do you feel?" Fred asked.  
  
"Like shit," was the general murmur.  
  
"Well, that is to be expected. But you all are in luck. We have a special deal for you. We have a hangover potion. Invented by ourselves. And only five galleons a glass," George said.  
  
"Five galleons!" Ron exclaimed hoarsely.  
  
"Only to you boys. For everyone else, it's eight," Fred said, "You're lucky we're so kind."  
  
"I'll take one," Harry mumbled.  
  
"Me too," Dean said.  
  
"Me," came the low voice of Seamus from the ground.  
  
"Harry, I will pay you back. I swear," Ron begged.  
  
Fred passed a steaming glass to each boy and George collected the galleons. Harry swallowed it quickly, ignoring the foul taste. His headache soon melted away and his stomach settled.  
  
"How goes it?" Fred asked.  
  
"That was great," Harry said, the others agreeing.  
  
"Good. You were our first testers. Never tried that one before. Tell us if you have any side effects later," George said, smiling slyly.  
  
"You mean you don't know if it's safe!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
"Ron, you feel better?" George asked.  
  
"Yeah," Ron said.  
  
"Then shut it," George said.  
  
"Well, we must be going. I'm sure the seventh and fifth years will want in," Fred said.  
  
"Can't forget those third years, either. They looked pretty bad," George reminded him.  
  
"Hey, what did I really say to McGonagall?" Dean asked worriedly.  
  
"Remember how Snape went on to her last week?" Fred asked. Dean paled and dropped his hands to his face. The twins laughed.  
  
"Just kidding, Thomas. George was kind enough to stop you," Fred said. George took a deep bow.   
  
"Hey, Seamus. Now, last night, you promised to show us that jig you were doing on the table. The girls got a kick out of it," Fred said. Seamus groaned. After a few more minutes of taunting, the twins finally left them. 


	11. Halloween

Chapter 11 - Halloween  
  
"I'm going with Lavendar. Asked her a few weeks ago," Seamus said. He, Harry, Ron, Neville, and Dean were sitting around the common room, talking casually about the next day's Hogsmeade trip. It seemed that almost everybody had a date to go to Hogsmeade with.  
  
"I asked Luna Lovegood yesterday," Neville said quietly. Even Neville.  
  
"And she said yes?" Ron blurted out.  
  
"Yes!" Neville said indignantly, "At least I'm not afraid to ask the girl I like out, Ron."  
  
Dean let out a cough that sounded an awful lot like 'Hermione', causing everyone to fall about laughing, except Ron, who was glaring at them threateningly.  
  
"We are only friends," he said through gritted teeth, "Why can't you guys get that through your thick skulls?"  
  
"Well, you do get a bit Defensive when we mention it," Dean said.  
  
"And you do glare at anyone that talks to her," Neville said.  
  
"Face it, Ron. You fancy Hermione," Seamus said.  
  
"So, who are you going to Hogsmeade with Dean?" Harry changed the subject to avoid the impending argument or, knowing Ron, the hexing that would arise.   
  
"I was going to ask Aira but since she left I'm all alone," Dean sighed.   
  
It was only four days since she left and rumors already were flying as to why she was expelled. Dumbledore encouraged the rumors that she was expelled. Harry still hadn't had to face the headmaster since then and wasn't looking forward to the next Occlumency lesson. He was still rather pissed after the Tonks thing.  
  
"Unless you're willing to go with me Ronnie?" Dean joked, batting his eyes playfully. Ron made a face.  
  
"I think I just might rather go with Moaning Myrtle," he said, "Or possibly Filch. Or Peeves. Even Umbridge is looking good. Or maybe Snape. Or--"  
  
"I do believe we get it, Ron," Harry said.  
  
"Now, that hurts, Ron. Snape over me?" Dean laughed.  
  
"Ok, ok. Maybe that one is pushing it a bit," Ron said.  
  
"Hey, you guys! I'd get down to the feast if I were you. You definitely do not want to miss this," Fred called over to them as he left the common room behind George. Harry noticed both of their pockets were bulging and they wore sly grins.  
  
"Let's go!" Dean exclaimed. The five boys jumped up, chasing after the twins.  
  
"What are you going to do?"   
  
"Yeah what is it this time?"  
  
"Calm down, my dear boys. You shall see in due time," George said.  
  
"And if after, you would like to make a purchase. For the low price of ten sickles, you can have a bag of twenty," Fred said, sounding like an infomercial.   
  
"Oh, what is it?" Seamus asked. Harry looked at Ron, and saw that he, too, knew what it was they had. And his smile showed that he also thought it would make quite an entertaining disturbance. The five boys begged and pleaded to be let in this once and by the time they arrived at the Entrance Hall, Fred and George were compelled to let them in.  
  
"Okay, I'll give you each a few," Fred said, defeated. He handed each of them a few marble-sized balls of different colors.  
  
"When I tell you, tap them with your wands and roll them as far away from us as you can. You'll see what they do," George said. He winked at Harry and Ron.  
  
They all sat together at the Gryffindor table, acting as normal as usual. The Great Hall looked as magnificent as it ever did with the Halloween Feast decorations and the food was always good. Once they finished eating deserts, Fred gave a nod.  
  
"Now," he muttered. Under the table, wands were drawn. Harry tapped the four he had in his palm and rolled them towards the Slytherin table. He saw a few balls going at the other tables, and towards the other ends of Gryffindor table, even a few headed for the staff table.  
  
"Five - four - three - two," George counted in a whisper. At one, there were several comical squelching sounds, and bright colors shot from the little balls, plastering everything in the hall. Students, tables, and walls were all sorts of different colors and patterns. At the staff table, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Green were a nice crimson with orange stripes. And, somehow, Snape still managed to look his usual livid self under the coat of polka-dotted color on his face.  
  
Absolute silence filled the hall, as everyone took in what just happened. Harry tried to keep a straight face, but Ron caught his eye and he had to bury his face in his arms to keep from cracking up. Slowly, students began smiling and giggling; then it turned to outright laughter.   
  
It was when they looked around that the culprits realized their only mistake in their little prank. Every person in the hall now had a new color but a certain area at the Gryffindor table. The color began to fade out of every thing and person after sixty seconds. Once the laughter died down, Dumbledore stood. He looked about the students, his gaze stopping at Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville and he smiled.   
  
"Well, no harm came of it. Nicely done, boys," he said.  
  
"It was our pleasure, sir," Fred and George said cheerfully, standing to take a bow, amid applause from many.  
  
After the feast, the twins were bombarded with orders for their new product. So much so, that they sold out their stock of them that evening and needed to make a waiting list. That evening, the exploding paint balls made appearances sporadically in the Gryffindor common room, no one tiring of the new amusement.  
  
The next morning Filch had posted notices that the exploding paint balls were added to the broad list of items banned at Hogwarts, along with nearly every other item from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, though none of the students gave any regard to his list, anyway. The notices might as well be thrown out, for all the attention the students paid to them.  
  
By midmorning, students were lined up at the Hogwarts gates to go into Hogsmeade. Harry left Ron with Dean and Hermione and met Whitley in the Entrance Hall and they walked together. Harry felt a bit nervous. His last trip to Hogsmeade with a girl proved to be a disaster. He tried not to think about that.   
  
As they walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, Whitley stopped in front of a little coffee shop, the coffee shop he went in with Cho last year.  
  
"You want to go in there?" Harry asked tonelessly.  
  
"Harry, please be kidding," she said with raised eyebrows.  
  
"I don't know. I thought girls liked that stuff," he shrugged, very glad she wasn't interested in going there.  
  
"Not all of us. I think we'll be happier in there," she pointed to the Quidditch store beside it. Harry grinned.  
  
"I think so, too," he said happily. An hour was spent in the shop, comparing brooms and other supplies. Harry couldn't resist buying new Quidditch gloves and the latest issue of Quidditch Fanatic, a magazine about the English Quidditch League players.  
  
After, they went into the Three Broomsticks for a drink, discussing the players in the magazine, among them, Oliver Wood. Talk soon turned to school, and then somehow it got to the Dursleys.  
  
"Not all muggles are like that, are they?" Whitley asked.  
  
"No, it varies just like with us," Harry shrugged.  
  
"I've never met a muggle before. I only just met Muggleborns when I came to Hogwarts. My father never let me around them. Him and my mum argued about it a lot. She thought that we were no better than them, but he thought they were below us. He wanted to send me and my brother to Durmstrang, but before she died, Mum asked him to send us here. He did love her, and so he let us come here," she said.  
  
"Sorry about your mother," Harry said. He meant it. He knew how it felt to lose someone.   
  
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring any of it up. I've never even told anyone before," she said.  
  
"I don't mind. You can talk to me. I'll listen," Harry said.  
  
"Thanks," she said, laying her head against his shoulder, "It is nice to talk to someone. I know you know what my father is. My brother is the same as him, but I think he only does it to please him. He isn't exactly good with school or sports. I always got that praise. Then, me and my father got into a fight two summers ago about our different ideas about wizards and muggles. And he just kind of pushed me to the side."  
  
"That's his loss. You don't deserve that," Harry said.  
  
"I hate him, but he's my father," she said quietly, "He is one of those that kill innocent people. I'm sorry he did, Harry."  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry about. That's not your fault. He did that stuff. Not you," Harry said.   
  
"But he's my father, " she said, "He's part of--"  
  
"He is. Not you. You can't take any blame for what he does," Harry said firmly. He knew that feeling of self guilt very well, having experienced it often enough himself. Whitley nodded.  
  
"Hey Harry, Whitley!" Ron called, hurrying in. Whitley sat back up, taking her head off Harry's shoulder, and Harry had the urge to throw his empty Butterbeer bottle at Ron, who always seemed to walk in at bad moments.  
  
"Hi," Whitley said.  
  
"Yeah, hi," Harry said dully.  
  
"Hagrid is back! Hermione's there, now. She told me to get you, so we can meet her there. She said Hagrid can't stay long," Ron said quickly.  
  
"Do you want to go?" Harry asked Whitley unsurely. Then remembering Hermione's advice from last year, he added, "Hermione's so annoying sometimes and -er- ugly."  
  
"Harry! That's pretty damn rude!" Whitley said, looking at him like he was Malfoy.  
  
"But, I thought girls want to hear that stuff," Harry said, "Hermione told me to say it."  
  
Whitley laughed, "I'm thinking she meant Cho would want to hear that. Not me. I know you don't like Hermione."  
  
"Damn right he doesn't," Ron said, glaring at Harry.  
  
"Can we just go see Hagrid?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yeah, we have to hurry. He won't be there long," Ron said.  
  
Harry left some money on the table to pay for the drinks and hurried out of the shop with Whitley, following Ron. They practically ran through Hogsmeade trying to keep up with Ron. Once they arrived at Hagrid's hut, they found Hermione and him inside bustling around.   
  
"Harry! Ron! Glad ter see ya!" Hagrid said, happily, clapping them on the back.   
  
"You, too, Hagrid," they said.  
  
"And who's this?" he asked, meaning Whitley.  
  
"Harry's new girlfriend, Whitley," Ron said, smirking.  
  
"Ah, well tha's nice. Good ter meet ya, Whitley," Hagrid said.  
  
"Nice to meet you, too," she said.  
  
"I can' stay very long. Jus' came ter get a few things," he held up a brown pack.  
  
"Where are you going this time? What happened with the Atrabestas?" Harry asked.  
  
"Nothin' 'appened with em. An' I'm goin' back," Hagrid said.  
  
"Why did you come back here?" Ron asked. Hagrid gave a big sigh and sat down.   
  
"You lot know who wen' with me?" he asked.  
  
"Charlie, and two other order members," Ron said.  
  
"Denatius Piers an' his sister, Lassandra. We 'ad a problem when we foun' one of the Atrabestas. While we were dealing with that 'un, another 'un came from behin'. Denatius was killed," Hagrid said sorrowfully.  
  
"And you're going back? But it's too dangerous," Hermione said.  
  
"I have to. Dumbledore needs me to. The battle will be very one sided if Voldemort gets hold of these things," Hagrid said solemnly.  
  
"Mum is going to be really upset when she finds out. She's already a wreck with Charlie doing this. When she finds out someone died..." Ron said.  
  
"Tha's why this stays between us. No 'un is s'pose to know I returned. On'y Dumbledore," Hagrid said, "And I though' you lot weren' s'posed to know abou' this at all."  
  
"You should be more surprised when we don't know," Ron said.  
  
"Tha' I should. I hafta get goin now. Wish I could stay longer bu' I hafta meet Charlie," he said, ushering them out of the hut.  
  
"I'll be seeing you again. Soon, I hope. Bye," he said.  
  
"Bye, Hagrid," they said before he walked away into the dark of the Forbidden Forest.  
  
"When did he get back?" Harry asked.  
  
"He said it was only an hour ago. He had to talk to Dumbledore and then he had to get a few things before leaving," Hermione said, "I can't believe one of them were killed. It's horrible."  
  
"And Charlie. He's going back," Ron said.  
  
"He'll be fine. They'll be more careful now," Harry said.  
  
"Yeah," Ron said uncertainly.  
  
"We should go back to the castle. It's almost time for dinner and it's getting dark," Hermione suggested.  
  
They all agreed, walking slowly to the castle. Harry and Whitley walked together, leaving Ron and Hermione to walk together and to Harry's surprise, they were actually having a conversation. Not for very long, though, as it turned to another of their arguments.   
  
"We definitely need to get them together," Whitley muttered so only Harry could hear. They entered the castle and went to the Great Hall after dropping off their things in their common rooms. After dinner, as Harry was leaving with Ron and Hermione to go to the room of requirements for the Sunday DA meeting, Remus joined them.  
  
"Professor Green asked me to tell you she can't make it to tonight's meeting. And she asked me to take her place, if you didn't mind," he said.  
  
"Yeah, that's okay," Harry said.  
  
"She said you were working on healing. I can't say I'm very good with it, but I'm not too bad, either. I learned a while ago so I didn't have to make such frequent visits to the hospital wing," Remus said.  
  
"Why would you have to make so many stops, there?" Ron asked thoughtlessly.  
  
"With my condition, I often injure myself," he said.  
  
"Oh, sorry for bringing it up," Ron apologized.  
  
"No need to be," Remus said.  
  
During the meeting, Remus turned out to be a great help. He was able to correct anything they were doing wrong, and he seemed to know what he was doing. By the end, every member had improved through his help. When the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came late from practice, though, there was a bit of a problem with none other than Zacharias Smith.  
  
"I don't see why we would need help from a werewolf," he whispered while Remus was busy on the other side of the room, helping Neville. Usually Harry left Zacharias to be dealt with by the Weasleys, but this time he felt the need to do it himself.  
  
"Say another thing about Lupin and I will make sure you regret it," Harry threatened.  
  
"He's a werewolf, Potter," he said quietly, as if that cleared everything up, "He-"  
  
"Stop," Harry cut him off, "I don't want to hear anything come out of your mouth unless it's I love werewolves."  
  
Zacharias glared at him and opened his mouth to say more. Harry saw a stream of spell hit him and the words 'I love werewolves' came out. Fred lowered his wand, grinning.  
  
"Do you really, Smith? Glad to hear it. They really are quite nice when you get to know them," George said.  
  
"I thought maybe it would be a good way to shut him up," Fred shrugged. Zacharias was glowering at them, mouthing the words 'Fix it.' Fred pretended to be thinking on it before saying slowly, "After the meeting, I suppose I could. Don't know why you'd want your mouth back, though. It seems to cause you a lot of trouble."  
  
With the noise and distractions of the meeting, the whole scene went on unnoticed by all else. Smith received many curious looks, having kept his lips tightly shut the whole meeting. Harry was sure he'd have left if he didn't have to wait for Fred to perform the counter curse.   
  
"I'm not sure if I want to. I definitely find his silence a great improvement," Fred had said at the end of the meeting. He sighed and pointed his wand lazily at Smith, "Negate."  
  
Smith grabbed his things from the ground moodily and stormed out of the room, wordlessly, with his friends following. The other members also began to leave, a few lingering to have a word with Harry.   
  
"I'll see you around, Harry," Remus said. He grinned and added in an undertone, "Thanks for sticking up for me, too."  
  
Harry looked at him questioningly. He was sure no one heard the quiet dispute between him and Smith.  
  
"Wolf-like hearing," Remus shrugged, "Night, Harry."  
  
"Night Professor," Harry said as Remus left. Only he, Ron, Hermione, and Whitley were left.  
  
"Who's is this?" Whitley asked, holding up a tattered old cloak.  
  
"Remus's," Harry said, "I'll run it to him."  
  
"No need. Ron can take it to him in the morning. He has a class with him first thing tomorrow," Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, you know, while you've got Snape in Potions," Ron added, grinning. He never missed an opportunity to tantalize Harry about having to take potions while he didn't.  
  
"The point is you can take it to him," Hermione rolled her eyes, "Now come on. We have to get back to the common room."  
  
At that, she gave Harry a look. They had had many arguments over his walking Whitley to her common room after meetings. Although Snape had warned Harry about going down into the dungeons alone, Harry continued to walk Whitley back after every meeting, taking the invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map with him. He never told her about her brother and his friends cornering him that night.  
  
"I'll see you guys in the common room," Harry said to them, ignoring Hermione's reproving gaze.   
  
"See you," they said as they left, leaving Harry and Whitley alone.  
  
Harry wasn't sure how it happened, but one moment they were standing together tensely and the next, they were kissing. Harry's hands were lost in her brown curls. He was taken aback when she pulled away from him abruptly. It wasn't until he saw a figure in the doorway that he realized why.  
  
"Remus!" he said, surprised and a bit annoyed at first nonetheless, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I forgot my cloak," he said, "I think we should talk."  
  
"I'll just go now," Whitley said quietly, hurrying out the door.  
  
"I'll go, too," Harry said. He tried to follow, but Remus threw an arm out to stop him.  
  
"Sit," Remus said. Harry sighed and dropped into one of the chairs.  
  
"I guess we -er- need to talk," Remus said, shifting uncomfortably.  
  
"It's not like we were going to do anything," Harry said. Well, here's another one for the list of most embarrassing moments, he thought.  
  
"I always thought Sirius would be the one to talk to you about this. I'm not exactly good at it," Remus said. Harry's eyes widened in mortification. He did not like where this was going at all. If there was anything to make his situation worse, this was it. He dropped his head into his hands.  
  
"Don't do this," Harry groaned through his fingers.  
  
"I just want you to think of the consequences of any rash decisions. You're sixteen. It's your choice. Remember that that one night can have life long consequences. So use your head before you do anything," he said. Harry sank deeper and deeper into the chair as Remus continued, wishing he could disappear.  
  
"If I promise to, will you please let me leave?" he asked.  
  
"Harry, I'm serious," Remus said.  
  
"I know, and so am I. I promise. I won't let anything happen," Harry said, getting to his feet. He hoped the awkward moment between them would come to an end soon.  
  
"Alright, to your dormitory then," Remus said, "Hang on. My cloak?"  
  
"Ron has it. He was going to give it to you in the morning," Harry said, slipping out of the door, "Night Professor."  
  
"Night Harry," Remus said. He seemed as glad as Harry to have the awkward moment end. Harry walked in the opposite direction of Remus, towards Gryffindor common room, embarrassment fading and his former annoyance returning. When he reached his dormitory, he only wanted to go to sleep and forget that evening ever happened. 


	12. Legilimency

Chapter 12 - Legilimency  
  
Harry stood, wand drawn, in a circular stone room. The only source of light was a few dimly lit torches that hung on the wall, casting ominous shadows throughout the cold surroundings. Before Harry, stood three hooded figures.  
  
"Have you finally managed to find a way to free them?" he hissed in a voice that was not his own; he knew exactly who's voice it was. One of the hooded figures took a step forward.  
  
"Yes, master. The ministry has made things very complicated. But, without dementors, Azkaban is nothing," it was the low voice of a woman that spoke, a familiar voice to Harry, though he couldn't quite place it.  
  
"Yes. And have you everything ready?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, master. They are awaiting your order. Ready to go once they feel the Dark Mark burn," she said. Harry grasped her arm with his long white fingers.  
  
"The half-giant and those wizards with him, have you taken care of them?" Harry asked.  
  
"Soon, master. Very soon," she said.   
  
"Very well," he said as he pulled the sleeve of her robes up, revealing the skull and serpent tattooed into her pale skin. He pressed against it with one of those skeletal fingers.   
  
Harry was rushed back to reality with a surging pain in his forehead. He clasped a hand to his scar and sat upright.  
  
"S'rong? You screamed." Ron said groggily. The throbbing in his scar was making Harry sick. He waited a moment for the pain to subside before giving Ron an answer.   
  
"Dream," he said shortly, fumbling with blankets and hangings to get out of bed. He needed to get to Dumbledore's office straight away and tell him about the dream. He knew it was probably too late to do anything about the Death Eaters escaping from Azkaban, but Voldemort also mentioned the half-giant and the wizards with him, meaning Hagrid and Charlie.  
  
Two sets of footsteps echoed as Ron followed Harry down the stairs into the deserted common room. Harry made no objection to Ron following.  
  
"What happened?" Ron asked as Harry opened the door.   
  
"I'll explain when we get to Dumbledore's," Harry said.   
  
"Did he attack someone again?" Ron asked.  
  
"Not yet," Harry replied.  
  
Harry and Ron climbed through the portrait hole. They rushed through corridors and up staircases until they stood outside the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Harry's recent angry feelings towards the headmaster about Tonks were swept from his mind. That didn't matter, not when Hagrid and Charlie could be in danger.  
  
"Skiving Snackbox," Harry said. The stone gargoyles sprung to life and leapt aside, revealing the spiral staircase. Harry and Ron stepped on the spiraling stairs. Harry only knocked once on the door before it opened. Dumbledore stood, looking only somewhat surprised at seeing Harry and Ron standing before him.  
  
"Come in, boys," he said. They stepped inside and Dumbledore motioned for them to sit. Harry immediately began to explain about the dream.  
  
"Professor, Voldemort is trying to free the prisoners from Azkaban. I had another one of those dreams," he said.  
  
"I'm afraid it is too late to stop that. I received news of the breakout mere seconds before you arrived," Dumbledore said.   
  
"All of them got loose?" Ron asked.   
  
"Every prisoner detained since the last breakout has been freed," Dumbledore said.  
  
"That wasn't all, though, Professor. Voldemort also mentioned Hagrid and Charlie," Harry said. Ron looked anxiously from Harry to Dumbledore.  
  
"Harry, you must remember that it could be a setup by Voldemort," Dumbledore said calmly.  
  
"He knows about them. He wants them taken care of. Why wouldn't he kill them? He knows what they're doing. And I can block Voldemort from my mind, now. You know I can. This was me getting into his mind," Harry reasoned. Dumbledore took a moment to consider this before nodding.  
  
"I will send for them," he said, taking out a quill and parchment. He wrote a short letter and gave it to Fawkes, "Take this to Hagrid quickly."  
  
The phoenix gave a small trill and disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
"They will receive the message very soon, but it will take a while before they can get back here. Charlie could apparate, but I am sure he would not leave Hagrid alone, no matter how much Hagrid urged him to go," Dumbledore said.  
  
"How far are they?" Ron asked.  
  
"I am not sure. They need to be careful with Death Eaters looking for them, but there is no call for worry. They'll be fine," Dumbledore said. He turned to Harry, "You believe it was you that broke into Voldemort's mind?"  
  
"Yes," he said with certainty.  
  
"How long has it been since Voldemort broke into your mind?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"More than two weeks," Harry said.  
  
"And you can block my attempts to break into your mind," Dumbledore stated.  
  
"But not Snape's," Harry muttered.  
  
"Professor Snape, Harry. And he is a special case. I know you can block myself and Voldemort, which means you must have inadvertently broken into Voldemort's mind, as you say," Dumbledore said. He sat quietly at his desk, clearly thinking about something.  
  
Ron looked to Harry and they shrugged. After a minute of this, Harry cleared his throat to get their Professor's attention. It wasn't the first time Dumbledore'd ever done that.  
  
"Harry, I think our Occlumency lessons can come to an end now. Rather, we should start Legilimency lessons. You'll need to work on that if you are breaking into Voldemort's mind," Dumbledore said.   
  
"Isn't this a good thing, though? Breaking into his mind? I can see what he's up to. Why should I stop this?" Harry asked.  
  
"I have no intention for you to learn Legilimency to stop yourself from having these dreams, but to better control it," Dumbledore said, "This is up to you. Do you wish to learn Legilimency?"  
  
Harry nodded as Fawkes reappeared on his perch clutching a piece of parchment. Dumbledore stood, took the parchment from Fawkes, and read it over.  
  
"They are returning immediately. Their letter said it will take no more than a week to get back," Dumbledore said, "It is very late. You two had better get back to your dormitories."  
  
Harry and Ron nodded and left the office. They walked back to the common room quietly. Through the windows, the sun could be seen creeping over the horizon. A few students were up, going down to the Great Hall to get breakfast. They looked at Harry and Ron in their pajamas curiously. In the common room, Hermione was sitting with a book near the fire.   
  
"There you guys are!" she exclaimed, "Neville said you had another dream last night. What happened?"  
  
Harry and Ron explained about the dream, Charlie and Hagrid, and the Legilimency lessons to Hermione.   
  
"I'm going back to bed," Harry said when he finished.  
  
"We have lessons in an hour," Hermione said.  
  
"Not today," he mumbled, walking up to his dormitory to catch up on some much needed sleep.   
  
When he woke it was mid afternoon. Three classes missed, three detentions this week, he mused and gave a sigh. He got dressed and went down to the common room to find Fred or George. He wasn't in a detention mood so he decided on the old 'I was sick' excuse. He found the twins testing new products on a few first and second years in the corner of the common room.  
  
"Hey Fred. George. I need some skiving snack boxes. Missed three classes," he said.  
  
"You didn't go to any classes today?" Fred said admiringly.  
  
"Perfect. We can test one of the strong ones," George said.  
  
"Test?" Harry asked uncertainly.  
  
"We've tested it on ourselves. And Bill. Worked fine. You'll be our fourth tester," Fred said.  
  
"Yeah. Alright then," Harry shrugged, "What one is it?"  
  
"Just makes you look all pale and feverish. But you feel no symptoms," Fred handed him a blue and yellow chew.  
  
"Eat the blue end to look sick and yellow to look better," George said. Harry bit off the blue end. He didn't feel any different, but judging from the impressed looks he got from Fred and George, he looked different.  
  
"Wow, you look paler than Nearly Headless nick," Fred commented.  
  
"Thanks," Harry said.  
  
"Well, off to the hospital wing with you, Mr. Potter," George took one of his arms and Fred took the other, "We'll escort you. Don't know how sick you are, my dear boy. Could pass out or something."  
  
Harry let them lead him to the hospital wing, not sure if he wouldn't pass out or something. He was, after all, only the fourth tester of their new product. When they entered the hospital wing half carrying Harry, Madam Pomfrey quickly led him to a bed.   
  
"Thank goodness you brought him. He looks terrible," she said, putting a hand to his forehead, "He has a high fever, too."  
  
"He will be okay, won't he?" George asked dramatically.  
  
"Please take good care of him, Madam Pomfrey," Fred said, playing along.  
  
"He'll be fine, boys. You two go back to your common room. I'll take good care of him," she said, ushering them out of the door.  
  
"Madam Pomfrey, I missed classes today," Harry said, "I was too sick. Could you please tell-"  
  
"Yes, yes. I'll take care of all that," she said, "You obviously weren't well enough to go. Should have came here earlier."  
  
"I wanted to, but I couldn't walk on my own. Fred and George found me only a bit ago," he said, trying hard not to laugh.  
  
"Here. Take this. It will help, but it takes an hour or two to work," she handed him a glass of some orange potion. He accidentally on purpose knocked a pillow to the floor. When she bent to pick it up, he dumped the potion into a bedpan near his bed on the floor. Then he popped the yellow chew into his mouth.  
  
"You should feel better in an hour or so," she said, taking the empty glass from him. Harry saw his reflection in the cup. It only took seconds for his appearance to go back to normal. Madam Pomfrey looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Wow! I feel so much better, now. You must be the best healer in the world!" he praised as he got out of bed, "Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey. I feel great now."  
  
She tried to get in a word, but Harry kept talking, "I'll be sure to tell everyone how great of a healer you are. I can't believe it. Had me fixed in minutes. Thank you again, Madam Pomfrey."  
  
He waved goodbye and left quickly before she could force him back into a bed. He walked down the corridors, not wanting to go back to the common room to all that noise. It was rarely to never quiet in the common room. He decided on visiting Hedwig in the Owlery instead. One quick look through the hundreds of birds told him Hedwig wasn't there. It wasn't hard to pick out a snowy owl among the rest.  
  
He jumped as a furry mass collided with the side of his head. He looked down to see a dazed Pig on the ground. The owl ruffled its feathers and was back in the air, flying animatedly around Harry's head. Someone laughed and Harry saw Remus was standing near the window, sending off an Eagle owl.  
  
"Hyper little owl, isn't he?" he said.  
  
"Bit thick, too," Harry said as Pig did laps around his head.  
  
"Tea? My office?" Remus offered.  
  
"Sure," Harry said. He followed Remus down to his office, only a staircase and few corridors away. Remus conjured up a cup of tea for each of them.  
  
"Albus told me about Hagrid and Charlie," he said bluntly.  
  
"Yeah. They should be back in a week," Harry said.   
  
Remus nodded and there was a few seconds pause before he began to ask, "How are you d-"  
  
"I'm fine," Harry said abruptly and added quietly, "Just a bit sick of being me."  
  
"I expect it gets frustrating, doesn't it?" Remus said.  
  
"Yeah," Harry nodded.  
  
"I know you don't want to here the whole everything will be okay speech. Probably got enough of that from everyone. I can only tell you to try and make the best of what you're stuck with," Remus shrugged.  
  
"I wish I could tell you just what I am stuck with," Harry muttered.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know if I can tell you. I mean I want to, but I can't," Harry said.  
  
"You can tell me anything, Harry," Remus said. Harry met his warm eyes. He really did want to just spill everything to him, to have someone to understand what he was going through besides Dumbledore.  
  
"I don't think I can tell you this," he said, thinking resentfully of Dumbledore.  
  
"Can you tell me why not?" Remus prompted lightly.  
  
"Voldemort. It's just that if he finds out, it won't be good. If he found out-" Harry stopped. Voldemort already knew. Or, at least, thought he did. He wouldn't be looking for it now. He thought he had it. And he knew he could trust Remus to never give up the information to anyone.  
  
"Voldemort?" Remus said worriedly, "Harry, if you know something, you have to tell someone. I know you might not feel comfortable talking to me, but you have to tell someone."  
  
"I do feel comfortable talking to you. And it isn't like that. Dumbledore knows," Harry said. He paced the length of the room, debating whether he should or could tell Remus. Remus sat quietly, watching him.  
  
"Maybe you could ask Dumbledore," Remus suggested. Harry frowned. He didn't really want to talk to Dumbledore about it.  
  
"No, I don't need to," he said, "I can tell you, but...I don't know."  
  
"Harry, you can always talk to me if you need to," Remus said.  
  
"Remus, you have to swear you'll never tell another person. Not anyone," Harry said.  
  
"I'd never," he said sincerely and added, "Sit down."  
  
Harry sat in a chair near Remus.  
  
"Last year, in the department of mysteries, do you remember the prophecy I had that smashed?" he started. Remus nodded.  
  
"I wish I had a pensieve. It would be easier to show you rather than tell you," he said.  
  
"Would you rather do that?" Remus asked.  
  
"Could I?" he asked.  
  
Remus went to behind his desk and pulled a small battered pensieve from his desk drawer. He placed it before Harry.  
  
"You can just extract that memory. And you can show it to me. Just point your wand to your temple and focus on the memory you want extracted," he said. Harry did as Remus said. As he thought of the meeting with Dumbledore a funny tickling sensation came from his head. He put the wand to the pensieve and watched as the silvery substance flowed into it. It felt like something was being pulled from inside his head.  
  
"You're sure that you're okay with me seeing this?" Remus asked as the silvery memory swirled in the basin.   
  
Harry nodded and they both stuck a finger into the bowl. Harry felt himself being pulled inside. He was standing beside Remus and his memory self, who was looking out the window. Harry felt himself pale a bit. He took out too much memory. He didn't want Remus to see this part.   
  
"I took out too much," Harry said to Remus..  
  
"That happens sometimes," Remus said as Dumbledore emerged from the green flames in the fireplace and the portraits gave cries of welcome.   
  
Harry watched his past self uncomfortably. Remus put a hand on his shoulder. Harry was grateful for this gesture. He felt embarrassed when he saw his past self begin to yell at the headmaster and destroy his possessions. He expected Remus to say something about it or at least look at him disappointedly, but Remus only watched.  
  
"I was really mad. I shouldn't have done that," Harry said. He felt like he should try to explain for his actions.  
  
"I shouldn't have done it either," Remus said. Harry gave him a confused look.   
  
"About fifteen years ago, I came here and pretty much did the same thing," Remus explained.  
  
"Why?" Harry asked.  
  
"He told me he was sending you to live with Vernon and Petunia. I knew what they were. Lily told me about them and I didn't want you with them," Remus said with a bitter expression.   
  
For a long time, they sat and watched the scene before them. Then the past Dumbledore took out the stone basin and placed it on the desk.  
  
"This is what I wanted to tell you," Harry said. Remus gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze as the figure rose out of the pensieve. Sybill Trelawney began to speak in the hoarse tones of a true seer. As she finished the Prophecy and sank back into the pensieve, Harry and Remus were pulled out of the memory and set back in the office.  
  
Remus was gripping Harry's shoulder tightly now. He was as pale as Harry had been earlier after taking the twins new product.   
  
"Harry," he said quietly, "That meant...Did that mean you?"  
  
"Yeah. I either have to kill Voldemort or be killed by him," Harry said forlornly and was surprised when Remus hugged him. It wasn't a very common thing to happen to him. Harry felt like a weight was lifted thanks to Remus. He was grateful to have someone to understand what was going on.  
  
"Thanks," he said, "It's good to know I have someone to talk to about this stuff if I need to."  
  
"Thanks," Remus said.  
  
"For what?" Harry asked.  
  
"A lot of things," he said, then checked his watch, "Almost eight o'clock. Guess we missed dinner, then."  
  
"Yeah, guess so," Harry shrugged.  
  
"To the kitchens then?" Remus said.  
  
"I do recall receiving a detention for being down there from a certain Professor," Harry raised his eyebrows.  
  
"That was because you did not have permission from a teacher. And now that certain Professor is hungry and if a certain student does not wish to join him, he doesn't have to," Remus grinned.  
  
"That certain student is starving," Harry said, leading the way to the kitchens. When they reached, the portrait, Harry tickled the pear.   
  
"It was James who found this one out," Remus said, "Entirely on accident of course. I'd say it was one of the better finds."  
  
"So would I," Harry said as a half dozen house elves came his way, offering all sorts of foods. They took a little of each food and sat to eat.  
  
"I hope you'll be coming to my class tomorrow. I hear you haven't gone to any today," Remus said.  
  
"I was sick," Harry smirked. Then he realized something. If he had class with Remus the next day, then it would be a Tuesday, which meant today was Monday and he was supposed to be in Dumbledore's office.  
  
"I have to go," he said, getting to his feet, "Forgot I have to meet with Dumbledore."  
  
"Your lessons?" Remus asked.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said, "See you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye," Remus said before Harry set off, half running.. He ran into Dean Thomas as he rounded the corner to the headmaster's office.  
  
"Sorry Dean," he apologized.  
  
"No problem. Where you going to?" he asked.  
  
"Er- Remedial classes with Dumbledore," he lied, "And I'm late so I have to go."  
  
"Alright. See you later," he said. Harry waited until he was gone to say the password and enter the office.  
  
"Ah, Harry. A little late today," Dumbledore said when he entered.   
  
"Sorry, sir. I was with Re- Professor Lupin," Harry said.  
  
"It's quite alright," he said, "Ready to begin?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Like Occlumency, you will need to clear your mind first. Then you concentrate on opening the other's mind. Try to focus on a particular memory to see," Dumbledore explained, "Wand out. You know the spell. Go ahead."  
  
Harry hesitantly raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. He thought of his first year at Hogwarts and the Mirror Of Erised.   
  
"Legilimens!" he said loudly. A clip of the memory was played before him and stopped. Dumbledore was looking at him intently.  
  
"That was very good. Very good, indeed. I think Legilimency will be much easier for you to learn than Occlumency was," he said.   
  
"Hope so. Occlumency took almost a year," Harry said.  
  
"It certainly will take much less time. That spell was almost perfect. Let's try again," Dumbledore said.   
  
Harry did and he was able to hold the spell for a longer time. It was becoming easier. And by the end of the lesson, he nearly had it down perfect, surprising himself and Dumbledore.  
  
The next few days passed slowly. The first snow had fallen and now the grounds were covered in a white sheet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were awaiting an owl from someone to tell them Charlie and Hagrid were safely back. By that Friday, every hour, one of them would look out the window to see any signs of life at Hagrid's hut. And Harry had taken to asking Dumbledore every evening after dinner if they were back yet.   
  
Finally, that Tuesday evening after dinner, Remus met them outside the doors to the Great Hall and gave them news of Hagrid and Charlie's return.  
  
"They arrived at Grimmauld Place this afternoon. Charlie's staying there for a bit and Hagrid will be back tonight," he said with a smile.  
  
"That's great then. What time?" Harry asked.  
  
"In a few hours. Which will be after curfew. He'll still be here tomorrow. So no sneaking out tonight, you three," Remus said.  
  
"We won't," Ron and Harry said together perhaps a bit too quickly because Remus gave them a suspicious look and added, "I mean it. You're not to go out to see him tonight."  
  
"Okay. We won't go see him tonight. We'll go after lessons tomorrow," Harry said, with intentions the exact opposite of what he said.  
  
"In case you do decide to sneak out, I'll let you know that I'll be out there tonight to visit him when he arrives," Remus said.   
  
"In other words you don't trust us not to go out?" Harry asked.  
  
"Hm, how to put this?" he said, "Eh, no."  
  
"Thanks," Harry said in a fake hurt voice.  
  
"What about the teaching job? Now Hagrid's back, you won't have to leave, will you?" Hermione asked.  
  
"No. We have that worked out so that Hagrid and I split classes throughout the week. That way, we both can do more for the Order, too. It's good to have so many Order members at Hogwarts, in case anything should happen," he said.  
  
"Who else here is in the Order?" Ron asked, "Did you get anyone new?"  
  
"You know about Professors McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, and myself. And since the end of last term, Professors Green and Sinistra have joined us," he said.  
  
"How many people are in the Order?" Harry asked.  
  
"We now outnumber Death Eaters. About one-hundred-ten to sixty. But when we include other non-human creatures, it is a mere one-hundred-fifty to near three-hundred. And he is quickly gaining supporters," Remus said grimly.  
  
"He's back!" Hermione said a few hours later from the window in Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron went to the window to have a look.  
  
"Too bad we can't go tonight," Harry sighed.  
  
"Oh, come on, Harry. Lupin was faking it," Ron said, "He isn't going to be out there. He just said that so we'd stay here."  
  
"Probably," Hermione agreed.   
  
"Let's get our things, then," Harry said, dropping his Transfiguration homework in a corner.  
  
"Wait. I didn't- That's not what I meant," Hermione said hastily but Harry and Ron were already taking the stairs two at a time. She followed reluctantly.   
  
Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and dropped it over himself, Ron, and Hermione. They crept down the stairs and to the Portrait of the fat lady. They had to be careful because it was still early by Gryffindor standards. So they had to avoid a few younger students that were running around despite the constant telling offs from older students. Ron cursed under his breath at their immaturity as one nearly dived into him. They made it to the portrait okay and no one seemed to notice when it swung open on its own. 


	13. Dealing

Chapter 13 - Dealing  
  
"Well, this sucks," Harry muttered as he poked at his breakfast.  
"A whole week with Filch," Ron scowled.  
"A whole week with Trelawney," Hermione sighed.  
"You guys are lucky compared to me with Snape," Harry groaned. The three discontented Gryffindors were talking of their most recent and horrible detentions. Their visit down to Hagrid's the night prior did not go as they intended it to. Sure, they reached Hagrid's hut without problem. A few close encounters with teachers and a certain irritating cat, as was usual. And as they had thought, Remus was not there. Hagrid invited the trio inside happily and set to making tea while they talked. It was only a few minutes that they were there when their visit was cut short.  
"Quick, you lot! Ge' back under tha' cloak of yers. Some un's comin up here," Hagrid ushered them to a corner and they covered with Harry's cloak. A minute later, there was a knock at the door and when Hagrid opened it, it was, of course, Remus Lupin. "Ello Remus!" Hagrid greeted him.  
"Hello Hagrid. Glad to see you made it alright," Remus said.  
For two very long, very uncomfortable hours, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood not moving and barely breathing while Remus continued to talk with Hagrid. Finally as the second hour came to an end, Remus got to his feet.  
"I should be going, now. It was good to see you, Hagrid," he said.  
"Good ta see ya, too, Remus," Hagrid said. Remus pulled open the door and was about to leave, but he turned around.  
"Oh, and before I forget. I need to give these to Ron, Harry, and Hermione," he strode over to the corner where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood and pulled the invisibility cloak off of them, "It's your detention notices. A week each, for sneaking out after curfew when a teacher told you not to directly." How Remus had known they were there, he didn't say. He only gave them their letters and left. Now they sat miserably, talking about who had it worst. Ron was all for Harry's with Snape, but Hermione was sure that spending a few hours every night with Professor Trelawney would be no treat.  
"I think he personalized these detentions so that we'd each have the worst," Hermione said.  
"How nice of him," Harry said sarcastically.  
"And right before Christmas break, too," Ron said.  
"Let's move to that more cheerful topic. Christmas break," Hermione suggested.  
"Mum wrote to say we're staying at Grimmauld Place this year, again," Ron said.  
"So are we," Hermione said. Harry nodded mutely. He still felt as though it was his fault that his friends were in danger and had to spend their holidays at Grimmauld place rather than their own homes.  
"We'll have a house full this year. Mum invited Remus to stay. And Tonks is coming, too. She usually spends Christmas with her mother, but, well, that attack in October..." Ron trailed off.  
"Will all of your family be there?" Hermione asked, in an attempt to keep the conversation light.  
"Bill's coming with his new girlfriend. He wouldn't say who it is. Charlie's already there. Ginny, Fred, and George will definitely be there. And that's all of the Weasley's. At least the ones I consider family," Ron said and gritted his teeth as he added, "Percy had better not show up." "He still didn't apologize?" Harry asked.  
"No," Ron said shortly.  
"It will be nice if everyone makes up, though," Hermione said. Ron huffed. "I don't think I'd ever like to see him again," he muttered.  
"So we'll have a lot of people at Grimmauld Place. Well, this Christmas will be nice, with everyone there," Hermione tried to bring the talk back to cheerfulness once again.  
"Almost everyone," Harry muttered. It seemed that this conversation was doomed to be disheartening. Hermione, realizing this, gave up and suggested they go to class.  
  
That evening, Harry, Ron, and Hermione grudgingly left the cheerful atmosphere of the Gryffindor common room to go to their first night of Detention. "Have fun," Ron said with a grin as Harry turned to go to the Dungeons.  
"You too," Harry said. He made his way down to the dungeons, which were as cold as always. Harry stopped outside Snape's office and was about to knock when he heard voices come from inside. The door was cracked open a fraction of an inch.  
"You'll be of age in only a few months," came Snape's voice It didn't carry that usual icy, sarcastic tone.  
"I know, Severus," it was Malfoy that spoke. Since when was Malfoy on first name basis with Snape? Harry wondered.  
"When you come of age, you'll need to choose whether or not you join the Dark Lord," Snape said.  
"I've told you I have already chosen. I'm going to join him," Malfoy answered confidently. "That is your choice. I would rather if you did not but I will not be the one to stop you," Snape said.  
"And you won't tell Dumbledore or any others of the Order?" Malfoy asked.  
"I won't," Snape sighed. Harry couldn't believe it. Snape knew Malfoy was about to become a Death Eater and he was doing nothing about it. He knew Snape favored Malfoy but to turn a blind eye to this was going too far. Snape was keeping information of students joining Voldemort from Dumbledore.  
"I have to go now," Malfoy said. Harry quickly ducked into the shadows as not to be seen eavesdropping by either of them. He watched as Malfoy came out of Snape's office and strode down the hall. Harry waited a minute before knocking on the door to Snape's office.  
"Enter," Snape said, his icy tone back. Harry did as he was told.  
"Can't go very long without detention, can you?" he asked.  
"Apparently not," Harry snapped.  
"Watch your tone, Potter. You still have five nights of detention with me," Snape said threateningly, "Today, you can measure and bottle my stock of ground rat eyes."  
Snape pointed to a huge barrel with a stack of lsmall jars beside it. Harry scowled. This evening wasn't going to be a pleasant one. After what seemed to be ages spent in the cold dungeon room, Harry left to go back to the common room. He didn't know what time it was, probably early morning. He hoped Ron and Hermione were up so he could tell them what he overheard. Sure enough, when he got back, Hermione was waiting in the common room and Ron came in right after Harry.  
"Filch has to be the biggest dick head," Ron muttered, along with a few other rather creative names for the caretaker.  
"I'll bet you had a good time compared to me. I had to listen to the old fraud predict the next five years of my life and tell me how I don't have the inner eye while I polished about a hundred crystal balls," Hermione said.  
"Trust me, Hermione. Mine was worse," Ron said.  
"Ok. You both had shitty detentions. Now listen to what I overheard in Snape's office," Harry said, easily getting their attention.  
"What?" Ron asked.  
"Snape and Malfoy were in his office talking. I stopped outside and heard Snape say that Malfoy has to choose whether or not he was going to join to join Voldemort," Harry said, "And Malfoy said he was--"  
"I told you Snape was in with Voldemort!" Ron said.  
"No. He didn't want Malfoy to join. But he said he wouldn't turn Malfoy in," Harry explained, "So he's keeping it from Dumbledore that students are joining Voldemort."  
"Are you sure you heard it right? I mean Dumbledore trusts him," Hermione said.  
"Hermione! How can you still stick up for that git? It's plain that he can't be trusted. I'll bet he's encouraging students to join You-Know-Who," Ron said.  
"We have to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said.  
Harry shook his head, "Like you said, Dumbledore trusts Snape. He'll think I just misheard or something. Besides he has more important things to deal with. And Malfoy didn't even get the Dark Mark yet. He can't until he's of age."  
"Okay, but if we find anything more, then we're telling Dumbledore," Hermione said.  
"Fine," Harry agreed.  
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed," Hermione said.  
"Time is it?" Ron asked and yawned.  
"Going for two in the morning. That means Charms in only a few hours," Hermione said.  
"Ah, shit. Charms," Harry muttered.  
"Charms isn't that bad. Be glad it's not Potions," Ron said.  
"Not that. I forgot to do the Charms homework," Harry said.  
"You mean that five foot essay he assigned three weeks ago?" Hermione asked.  
"Wait a minute. That's due tomorrow?" Ron moaned.  
"Yes. Well, you two will have a nice night, I expect," she said.  
"Come on, Hermione! Just let us look at yours. You don't want that feeling of guilt when we fail, do you?" Ron asked.  
"I don't mind," she shrugged.  
"Please, Hermione," Harry pleaded.  
"Goodnight," she answered.  
"Let's get started then. Maybe we could get done in time to at least get a little sleep," Harry said.  
"You go ahead and keep thinking that," Ron said sarcastically.  
The next morning, Harry woke to find himself in the common room, with a Charms book and his nearly finished essay in his lap. HE sat up and stretched, trying to ignore his stiff neck. Ron was in the chair next to him, snoring. He was sprawled out, taking up two chairs. his quill still in his hand and a bottle of ink spilt in his lap.  
"Hey, Ron! Get up!" Harry said loudly. Ron grunted in response.  
"You have to get up," Harry said. "Later," was the low reply.  
"Fine. Miss today's Quidditch game," Harry said.  
"The game? It's today?" Ron asked frantically. He rolled over, resulting in him falling onto the floor head first.  
"Nope. Just Charms," Harry said, with a yawn.  
"Great," Ron muttered, rubbing his head.  
"Morning Ron, Harry," Hermione said as she entered came down the girls dormitory stairs.  
"Morning Hermione," they both greeted. She picked up their essays and looked at them.  
"You've got about fifteen minutes until class starts, you know," she said, handing the essays back.  
Harry grabbed his quill and began to hurriedly scribble anything on his essay to finish it. Ron was doing the same.  
"Seven more inches," he muttered as he measured his parchment.  
"Here," Hermione sighed. She handed Ron her essay.  
"Oh, thanks, Mione!" Ron said as he began copying random lines of hers into his own, Harry doing the same. "Mine's an inch and a half short. But it will have to do," Harry said.  
"Mine's three," Ron said.  
"Come on," Hermione said. She took her essay and shoved it into her bag. Ron and Harry followed.  
"Nice shirt, Ron," Hermione grinned as they hurried to the Charms classroom. Ron looked down to see the ink stain across it.  
"Figures," he muttered.  
Charms turned out to be boring that day. Professor Flitwick collected their essays and gave notes for the rest of class. Harry and Ron occasionally nodded off and occasionally actually took notes while Hermione tutted disapprovingly. Halfway through class, Harry couldn't take it any longer. He put his head down in his arms on the desk. He couldn't muster the strength to keep his eyes open any longer and was asleep in seconds.  
  
Harry was walking through a place he visited only too often, a silent dark graveyard. Everything was silent. It seemed he wasn't in control of his legs. He didn't want to go where they were taking him. He knew what he would find there and didn't want to. A gold shimmer could be seen a few feet away. The Triwizard Cup. Beside it was the body of Cedric Diggory. Harry tried to close his unwilling eyes. Cedric's skin was sickeningly pale and his eyes sunken in. The lifelessness of him made Harry sick. When he was mere inches from the body, Cedric's eyes snapped open. If Harry was in control of his own body, he'd have jumped. It was the first time in this consistent dream, no, nightmare, that that had ever happened.  
"Nice one, Harry. With you around killing everyone off, we won't need any Death Eaters. You seem to be doing a good job of it yourself," it was Sirius's voice that came out of Cedric's mouth. But not his usual voice. This one was cold and angry, "So who's next? You already tried to get your friends killed." The voice turned into Dumbledore's, "Maybe you should try again. You got Sirius and Cedric." "No, I didn't mean to," Harry pleaded.  
"Murderer," the voice said icily.  
"I am not!" he yelled. The scene turned to blackness and the next moment he opened his eyes to see Ron's face looming in front of him.  
"Shit, Harry, you alright?" he asked.  
"Son of a bitch," Harry cursed under his breath. Not for the first time, he had a class full of students looking at him like he was crazy. To top it off, it was a double class with the Slytherins. He could see a few of them already starting to laugh.  
"Mr. Potter, are you alright?" Professor Flitwick asked.  
"Fine," he snapped. He got to his feet, silently cursing himself for falling asleep in class and letting the dream get to him. He hadn't had one of those nightmares in weeks. Why did it have to come when he was in the middle of a class?  
"Maybe you should go to the Hospital Wing," Professor Flitwick suggested.  
"Yeah, sure," Harry muttered. He grabbed his stuff from the desk, ignoring Malfoy's whispered gibes and left the classroom, without any intention at all of going to the Hospital Wing.  
"Class skipping becoming a habit?" Fred asked when Harry entered the Gryffindor common room. Harry said nothing as he passed and climbed the stairs to his dormitory.  
He sat on the floor against his four poster bed. Sitting there with nothing to occupy his mind, Harry's thoughts fell to Christmas. Christmas without his Godfather. No matter how hard he tried to believe everyone else that it wasn't his fault, he still felt it was. If he had just believed Hermione that Voldemort was tricking him. If he hadn't believed Kreacher. If only he had used that mirror. For once, possibly the first time ever, he didn't let his curiosity get the better of him with that package Sirius gave him last Christmas and look how that worked out. He opened his trunk in search of his photo album. As he dug into the mess of clothes and books inside, he felt a sharp pain in his index finger. He pulled his hand out quickly. A large shard of glass was jabbed into the side of his finger. He pulled it out. It was piece of the mirror he smashed at the end of last year. The one from Sirius. He watched the blood slowly drip down into his palm.  
Harry held the piece of shattered mirror in front of him. He didn't know where the idea came from, but that it was all he wanted at the moment. He'd heard of it once or twice, but never thought about it. After taking a moment to contemplate it, he pushed up his sleeve and held the small piece of glass to his arm, Not where it would kill him. He didn't mean to kill himself, just to cut. He still had a Dark Lord to defeat. Or be defeated by, he reminded himself. Harry pulled the glass across his skin and felt, as if for that moment, everything was forgotten. A thin line of blood appeared across the top of his forearm. He cut again, this time deeper. And a third time. It felt as though with each cut, his problems faded. Here was one, possibly the only pain, no matter how small, in his life that he could control. As he cut, the only thing he thought about was the pain. All other thoughts were wiped away for the time.  
He dropped the glass after a fourth cut and looked at the damage he'd done with the glass. Blood ran down his arm. He watched it gush for a moment before stemming the flow with an old t-shirt from his trunk. He leaned his head back against his bed, feeling a bit dizzy. Once the blood flow stopped, Harry shoved the now crimson shirt into the bottom of his trunk along with the glass, and pulled the long sleeves of his school robes down to cover the slashes in his arms. He wasn't about to let anyone find out what he did. They'd probably send him off to some special ward at St. Mungo's. He wondered what others would say if they found out. The media would have a field day if they ever discovered out what famous Harry Potter did to himself. He knew he shouldn't have done it but yet he didn't regret doing it. It was just his way to deal. 


	14. Christmas Break

Chapter 14 - Christmas Break  
  
Harry watched as another crumpled paper flew across the common room into the waste paper basket. Hermione heaved a sigh. The sound of the steady scratch of her quill was lost in the noise of the rowdy common room.  
"That won't work," Hermione muttered as she crumpled up another piece of parchment. Ginny ducked as it went soaring over her head.  
"Hermione, What are you doing? It's Christmas break and we don't have any homework," Ron commented.  
"It's not for school. I'm writing to Viktor," she said.  
"Oh," Ron scowled.  
"Don't even start, Ron. I am not in the mood," she said.  
"I didn't say a word about it," Ron said.  
"And I'm sure you weren't going to make some smart comment, either," she snapped.  
"No need to be so moody," Ron muttered. Hermione glared angrily at Ron as he walked away to join the other unruly Gryffindors. She shut her book with a snap and stood. "I can't get anything done here. I'm going to the library," she said before leaving. Harry and Ginny exchanged looks.  
"This is going too far," Ginny shook her head, "I've said it before and I'll say it again. We need to get them together."  
"You say that as if it's an easy thing," Harry laughed.  
"Give me until after Christmas. I will have a plan by then," Ginny smirked.  
"So what is it that you need a plan for?" George asked as he and Fred joined them.  
"Ron and Hermione," Harry said.  
"Oh yes. You do need a plan then. Carry on," Fred said.  
"Well, while you think of your plan, I have to go pack my things," Harry said. "Train leaves in an hour and you didn't pack yet? My brother must really be starting to rub off on you," Ginny said jokingly as Harry retreated up the stairs to his Dormitory. Harry gave a quick look around the room and sighed. No matter how much the house elves tried to keep the dormitory clean, they were no match for five teenage boys. Harry's things lay strewn throughout the room along with the belongings of his four roommates. He grabbed what was his and began to throw it sloppily into his trunk.  
"You packing already?" Ron asked from the doorway.  
"I have to go meet Whitley at eleven thirty. Wanted to have it done before I left," Harry shrugged, Ron nodded and began to grab a few of his things and drop them into his own trunk.  
After a few moments of silence, Harry teasingly asked, "So when are you going to ask Hermione out?"  
"When am I what? I told you. I do not like her like that," Ron said resolutely.  
"Give it up, Ron," Harry said, "I know you like her."  
"I don't know," Ron shrugged.  
"It's not like I'd ever tell anyone," Harry pressed.  
"Okay. Yeah, I like her. So what?" Ron said defensively.  
"Nothing. Just glad you finally admitted it. Now seeing as you like her and she likes you, Don't you think the thing to do is ask her out?" Harry asked.  
"She doesn't like me and how would you know anyway?" Ron snapped.  
"I just do," Harry said, "And I should warn you. It might be good to ask her out before Christmas break ends.'"  
"And why is that?" he asked.  
"Just trust me on this one," Harry said, "I'll meet you in the entrance hall at a quarter to twelve. I've got to meet Whitley now."  
"Yeah, okay," Ron said as Harry left. He made his way through the rowdy common room and out the portrait hole. Harry admired the Christmas decorations of the castle. Once again, the statues were charmed to sing and this year Professor Flitwick had charmed many things throughout the castle to have a coating of ice that would neither melt or be cold. As Harry rounded a corner, he saw a couple fifth years were sliding down the ice-covered banister of the staircase. Among them were Fred and George. Harry tried to get by unnoticed, but, of course, failed.  
"Harry! Come on and have a go!" Fred called.  
"Ah, no thanks, Fred," he said and tried to hurry down the steps. George caught him by his arm and dragged him to the top. "Not a bit too old for this?" Harry asked.  
"Not at all," Fred said, grinning broadly and he jumped atop the banister and slid to the bottom amid cheers from the fifth years. Harry willingly climbed onto the banister rather than have George force him on and without warning, George gave him a push, sending him sliding down swiftly. Harry stumbled a bit as he landed, but remained on his feet. He laughed along with the others, and stopped when he saw Whitley standing at the bottom of the stairs.  
"Having fun?" Whitley asked, smiling.  
"Of course," Harry returned the smile.  
"Whitley, my dear. How about a go?" Fred said sweetly.  
"No, thanks," she said quickly. She and Harry hurried away before they were 'helped' to go down by one of the twins.  
"Come on, Harry! We'll miss the train," Ron called across the entrance hall fifteen minutes later. Harry ignored him.  
"Hey, lover lips! Let's go!" He heard either Fred or George shout. Harry finally broke away from Whitley, though reluctantly. They weren't the only pair that was saying goodbye in the entrance hall then. Seamus and Parvati were only a few feet beside them.  
"I'll see you when I get back here. Goodbye," Harry said and gave her one last kiss before he hurried over to the doors where Hermione and the Weasleys were waiting for him. He followed them out into the cold winter air to the carriages that were taking them to the train.  
"We'll be right back," Fred said once at the station.  
"We'll be right back," George said, "Need to pick something up for the holidays."  
They hurried off into Hogsmeade, leaving the others very curious as to what they were doing. When they returned, they seemed to be empty handed until George pulled out a bottle of some orange liquid from his robes.  
"Hey," Ron began, "Is that-"  
"Yes it is. Rotan's Wild Rum. Strongest Liquor The Hog's Head has to offer. One swig and you're plastered," Fred said in a TV commercial voice, "I thought we'd have a nice New Year's celebration of our own."  
"No thanks," Ginny moaned, clearly remembering the after effects of the last time.  
"Absolutely not!" Hermione exclaimed, "And if you do-"  
"You'll be a little snitch? Run and tell our mother?" George asked. Hermione pursed her lips and said no more about it, though she sent angry glares at the boys for the rest of the long train trip. At King's Cross Station, they were greeted by the usual group of five or six people, consisting this time of Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-eye. They loaded the five trunks into the cab and squeezed in. The cab driver grumbling as much as every other one they had.  
"Alright, inside, everyone," Mrs. Weasley said when they got to Grimmauld Place. Harry and Remus were the last to enter. Inside, it was decorated as it was the year before, though it looked much more comfortable. As Harry walked down the hall, he could see images of his Godfather draping garland on the banister, singing merrily. s he soon as he felt tears threaten to rise, he pushed away all thoughts of that. He didn't want to think about it, yet. It still hurt too much. Remus seemed to notice something, because he gave Harry's shoulder a gentle squeeze.  
"You okay?" he asked so only Harry could hear.  
"Fine," Harry gave his usual answer to the question.  
"Supper's on the table, everyone. Then it's off to bed. Christmas eve tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley said as she led them into the kitchen. At the table, Mr. and Mrs. Granger sat, chatting with Mr. Weasley. Most likely about some muggle invention. Hermione ran over to greet her parents. Harry and the younger Weasleys also said hello. Everyone took a seat around the table and began filling their plates. After dinner, they all went to their rooms filled and tired.  
  
Harry woke to what had become regular to him on Christmas morning. A pillow in the face from Ron and shout of ' Oi! Presents!' At the food of each of their beds was a large stack of presents. Ron was already tearing through the paper on one.  
Harry grabbed the lumpy package on top, already knowing what it would be. He opened it and laid the Weasley sweater on his bed. The next package was from Hermione. From the feel and weight of it, it was a book. Harry was glad to see it was one about Quidditch. It didn't take very long to open through the presents. By the time Harry opened his last, Ron was halfway through his box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.  
After opening their presents, the rest of the day was spent in the drawing room with everyone else. Mrs. Weasley went all out for a big Christmas feast that could have rivaled the Hogwarts feast. Memories of Sirius kept popping into Harry's head during the day, but he only pushed them away. Luckily, it was easy to keep from focusing on them with the twins keeping everyone entertained with their antics. It wasn't until the next evening that Harry began to feel depressed. The cheerful Christmas spirits had dissipated rather quickly. The memories and feeling of loss Harry had been pushing away were catching up with him. As he lay in bed that night, with his mind unoccupied, thoughts of Sirius started to overwhelm him. He went downstairs into the kitchen for a drink, knowing he wasn't going to get much sleep that night.  
He searched for a bottle of Butterbeer. HE went to the pantry to look. What he found, though was not Butterbeer. He moved a dusty box over and behind it was a bottle of orange liquid. Not a very good hiding spot, Harry thought as he pulled out the bottle. Without a second thought, he opened the bottle and swallowed a mouthful. He began to cough and splutter as the burning alcohol went down his throat. He sat on the cold stone floor and took another drink from the bottle. He didn't care what would happen if anyone came down and found him. Unluckily for him, no one did come and find him. He was left to his own thoughts and when half of the bottle was gone, which didn't take long, he could barely walk or think straight.  
With the bottle of Firewhiskey grasped tightly in his hand, Harry stumbled precariously down the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible, considering his state. He unlocked each of the ten or so locks on the door, and it swung open. He almost toppled down the stone stairs, but caught the railing to steady himself. He walked around the house to the back yard. At the far end, he found what he was looking for, his Godfather's flying motorcycle. The thought of Sirius made him take another large swig from the half empty bottle. He clambered onto the bike and turned the key. The engine roared loudly and on a last thought, Harry grabbed the black helmet and pulled it on his head. Before taking off, he downed some more alcohol, ignoring his doubled vision as he put the bike into drive and hit the gas. The bike sped across the yard at a dangerous speed, headed right for a neighboring house. Harry pulled up on the handle bars just in time, and flew straight into the air. The wind blew furiously and he felt the bike wobble under his control. Had he not been drunk, he would have noted the great feeling of being in the air.  
Harry steered one handed, the Rum still clutched securely in his right hand. He put the bottle to his lips and emptied the remaining alcohol down his throat. The only thing he seemed to be able to think about was Sirius, and he felt tears run down his cheeks. He thought drinking made your problems go away and supposed he needed to drink more for it to work. He decided to land to get more someplace.  
He pushed down on the handlebars and came to a jerky stop in the middle of a road in an unfamiliar city. He drove recklessly, in search of a bar or liquor store. He was completely unaware why so many other drivers were honking their horns at him. When a line of light posts jumped out of his way, he laughed.  
After a few minutes of driving, he found the lighted sign of a bar. He abruptly turned for the building, not stopping to check if the way was clear. A pair of bright white lights came racing at him. It all happened in a whir of noise and pain. Next thing Harry knew, he was lying face down on the pavement, a trickling of warm blood running down his face.  
"Are you okay, kid?" a man asked frantically.  
"Should we call an ambulance?" another asked. "Drunk. He was all over the road," another muttered.  
"That was a nasty crash," the first man said.  
Harry rolled over to see a small group of people surrounding him. He groaned and pulled himself to his feet, wobbling uncertainly for a moment. He shoved away a man who tried to help him stand. The crash seemed to sober him instantly. He looked from the crowd, to his own torn clothes and scraped hands, to the wreck of metal that was once Sirius's bike. He knew he was in a tough fix this time. His head ached painfully, but he was sure it was the whiskey and not the crash that had done that.  
He paced around the road, trying to think what to do now. He was sure the muggle police would be there any minute. He could just run off and find a way back to Grimmauld Place, he considered. The Death Eaters, they were sure to find out where he was before he reached London. Why had he felt the need to go for a mid-night drive? As he took off the bike helmet, he was surprised to see Kingsley Shacklebolt hurrying over, ignoring the five or six muggles standing around watching Harry.  
"Harry, you okay? Nothing broken?" he asked.  
"I'm fine," Harry answered, rubbing his temple. Kingsley sighed with relief. He raised his wand and fixed the gash above Harry's eye and the scrapes up his arms. "Remus, Mad-Eye, and Arthur will be here soon," he said, "Remus is worried sick about you." "I'm dead," Harry mumbled.  
"When Remus gets here and sees that you're alright, you will be. I've only he seen him once before when he was angry...quite scary. I don't know if you've ever seen him in a rage..." Kingsley looked at him almost sympathetically.  
"He's going to kill me," Harry groaned.  
"I don't know," Kingsley said, "I must say, though. After this one, I'm not sure you don't deserve it." "Harry! Are you alright?" came the panicked voice of Remus.  
"He's fine, Remus. Lucky he put the helmet on," Kingsley called.  
"No! Don't leave me with him," Harry begged in a whisper.  
"You're on your own," Kingsley said, hurrying away to join Mr. Weasley and Moody.  
"Thank Merlin you're not hurt," Remus sighed, hugging Harry. When Remus released him, though, he raised a hand and Harry received a hard blow across the face. He was in shock by this sudden change in Remus's behavior.  
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Remus yelled. Harry backed away from this unusually enraged Remus uncertainly. Remus seized him by the neck of his shirt and shook him, still shouting.  
"How could you do something so damn reckless?" He grabbed from the ground the empty Rum bottle, brandishing it at him. "You drank all of this?" he asked unbelievingly, "So you were absolutely smashed? And then you ran away with a stolen motorcycle! What is wrong with you?" Harry tried to pull away from him and Remus hit him around the head, "DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? I'm woken in the middle of the night by the minister of magic and told my best friend's son has just been involved in an accident on a bike that he stole! Then I find you were drinking! If Sirius were here, he'd have killed you! Look at his bike! You could have been killed!" Harry looked to the others for help but they all seemed completely oblivious to him and Remus. "I want to know what the hell you were thinking, taking the bike like that!" Remus continued yelling. Harry cringed away from him.  
"Answer me!" Remus gave him another shake.  
"I d-don't know," Harry said.  
"Obviously, you weren't thinking at all! This is the stupidest thing you've ever done!" Remus yelled.  
"I-I'm sorry," Harry said. He had never seen Remus as angry as this before and it shocked him.  
"Not only did you endanger your own life, but the lives of others, as well!" Remus dragged him forcefully from the road to the sidewalk where Moody was modifying a memory.  
"Finished?" Moody asked Remus.  
"No. Here's your portkey. I'm taking him home now," Remus handed Moody a crumpled paper.  
"Give me Death Eaters over teenagers any day," Moody muttered.  
"Don't leave me with him," Harry mouthed at Kingsley, who was near by. Kingsley only shook his head.  
"Here, take this," Remus thrust a spoon at Harry, who very reluctantly took hold of it. A moment later, he was in the kitchen of Grimmauld place. The Weasleys were sitting at the table; Harry saw them only a second before he was flung against the wall. Remus was evidently not concerned with the people around him.  
"I just cannot believe you!" he shouted as Mrs. Weasley ushered the younger Weasleys out of the kitchen, "I just don't get how you could do something so stupid! What was going through your head at the time?" Unwanted tears spilled down Harry's cheeks.  
"Now, Remus. Calm down," Mrs. Weasley said, attempting to calm him.  
"Calm down? He just got drunk and crashed a flying motorcycle. Would you be calm?" Remus asked. He picked Harry off the ground and dropped him into one of the chairs. Harry cringed, expecting another blow.  
"Please don't. I'm sorry," Harry said weakly. Remus backed away. That unusual rage left his face and he looked upset. He put his head in his hands for a moment, then dropped them.  
"Get to your room, Harry. Just- Just go," he said in a controlled voice. Harry wiped his face with his sleeve, staining it with tears and left quickly.  
  
The next morning, Harry's head was pounding. He groaned and opened his eyes. It felt like someone was taking a sledge hammer to his brain. After a shower, he felt no better. As he finished getting dressed, Ron came in with a goblet full of a frothy liquid.  
"It's that hangover stuff. Fred and George made it. They said this one is on them," Ron said, handing Harry the drink.  
"Thanks," he said.  
"You remember anything that happened last night?" Ron asked.  
"Enough. I don't think Remus is likely to let me forget," Harry muttered.  
"What did happen?" Ron asked.  
"I found Fred and George's Rum in the pantry and got drunk. Then it's blank. And I remember I ended up crashing. Then Lupin decided to come and fling me around a bit, as if I wasn't already in enough pain," Harry said heatedly.  
"You crashed the bike?" Ron asked.  
Harry nodded.  
"No wonder Lupin was so mad," Ron said.  
Harry sent him a glare and left the room, deciding he'd like to go see Buckbeak rather than people. He opened the door a bit to make sure Remus wasn't in the room as he usually was. He wasn't exactly Harry's favorite person at the moment. Buckbeak sat on the floor contentedly, chewing on a bone. Harry sat by him, stroking his head. When, a few minutes later, Remus came in, Harry couldn't say he was surprised. He knew they'd have to talk at some point that day. "Here to knock me around some more, Professor Lupin?" Harry asked angrily, narrowing his eyes. Remus frowned, "I'm not going to play this game with you, Harry. You can't tell me you didn't expect any less than that. You got drunk and ran off with a flying motorcycle. Did you expect me to be calm and relaxed?"  
"What does it matter to you what I do?" Harry spat, getting to his feet.  
"It matters a lot. I care what happens to you and don't ever question that again," he said. "Sure you do," Harry said under his breath. He brushed past Lupin, into the hall. Mr. Weasley was there, frowning slightly at him.  
"Harry, we need to have a word," he said, "In the drawing room?"  
Harry nodded. He followed Mr. Weasley into the room and took a seat. Mr. Weasley sat across from him.  
"Harry, I can't let what happened last night slide at the ministry," he began. Harry nodded.  
"It has to be put on your record now. And any other misdemeanor after will result in expulsion from Hogwarts. Do you understand?" he said seriously.  
"Yes," Harry said.  
"I must get back to work now. Lots to do," he said. They both stood to go.  
"And Harry," Mr. Weasley said, before Harry opened the door, "He does care."  
Harry nodded, knowing what he meant. Mr. Weasley left Harry to think it over and after a few minutes, he went down the hall to Buckbeak's room. Remus now sat beside the hippogriff, stroking his head. When he saw Harry, he stood up.  
"Harry--" he began but Harry stopped him.  
"I just want to say sorry about last night. It was a stupid thing to do," he said quietly.  
"That it was. I thought you had better sense than to drink," Remus said, disappointment apparent in his voice. Harry thought he might rather if Remus started yelling again.  
"I get it. I screwed up. I never would have taken the bike if I was sober," Harry said.  
"Why were you drinking in the first place?" Remus asked.  
"Every kid does it..." Harry shrugged.  
"I don't care what every kid does. And I know if that was how it was, you would have invited the others to join. I know you had another reason," Remus said, knowingly, "Drinking will not make those things go away." "You're telling me," Harry sighed, "No more of these nights of drinking for me." "Nights? As in more than one? As in last night wasn't your first time, was it?" Remus asked.  
"Yes, -er- Well, no," Harry said, realizing it was pointless to lie, "But only once before. And I swear I will never do it again." "I really hope not," Remus shook his head, disappointedly.  
"You don't have to worry. If I have a pissed off you to come back to after, I won't be doing anything of the sort," Harry muttered.  
"Glad to hear it," Remus said.  
"I'm pretty hungry. I'm going to get something to eat," Harry said as his stomach growled.  
Lupin looked curiously at Harry and asked, "You aren't feeling sick at all?"  
"If you mean hung over, not at all," Harry answered and left the room, leaving Remus confused. He went down to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was cooking. A few order members were sitting around the table. Harry avoided looking at them and sat with Fred, George, and Ron at the end of the table. The order members were all too involved in conversation to notice him much. 


End file.
